THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


f.Jf 


SOCIALISM  AND 
DEMOCRACY  IN 

EUROPE 


By 

&• 

SAMUEL   Pi  ORTH,  PH.D. 

Author  of  "Five  American  Politicians,"  "Centralization  of 
Administration  in  Ohio"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 
HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 

1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 

BY 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


Published  January.  1913 


THE  QUINN  A  BODEN  CO.  PRESS 
RAHWAY,  N.  J. 


PREFACE 

IT  is  becoming  more  and  more  evident  that  democ- 
racy has  served  only  the  first  years  of  its  apprentice- 
ship. Political  problems  have  served  only  to  intro- 
duce popular  government.  The  economic  problems 
now  rushing  upon  us  will  bring  the  real  test  of 
democracy. 

The  workingman  has  taken  an  advanced  place  in 
the  struggle  for  the  democratization  of  industry.    He 
has  done  so,  first,  through  the  organization  of  labor 
unions;  secondly,  through  the  development  of  political 
parties — labor  parties.     The  blend  of  politics  and  eco- 
nomics which  he  affects  is  loosely  called  Socialism. 
The  term  is  as  indefinite  in  meaning  as  it  is  potent  in 
Confluence.     It  has  spread  its  unctuous  doctrines  over 
.2  .every  industrial  land,  and  its  representatives  sit  in 
"Q  every  important  parliament,  including  our  Congress. 
JB       Such   a  movement   requires   careful   consideration 
*O    from  every  point  of  view. 

O  It  is  the  object  of  this  volume  to  trace  briefly  the 
J-M  growth  of  the  movement  in  four  leading  European 
CO  countries,  and  to  attempt  to  determine  the  relation  of 
U«  economic  and  political  Socialism  to  democracy — a 
1^ J  question  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  friends  of  the 
IO  American  Republic  at  this  time. 

CO  '  In  preparing  this  volume,  the  author  has  made  ex- 
j  '  tended  visits  to  the  countries  studied.  He  has  tried 
CC  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  movement  by  personal  con- 
£Ji  tact  with  the  Socialist  leaders  and  their  antagonists, 
in  iii 


iv  PREFACE 

and  by  many  interviews  with  laboring  men,  the  rank 
and  file  in  every  country  visited. 

Everywhere  he  was  received  with  the  greatest  cor- 
diality, and  he  wishes  here  to  express  his  appreciation 
of  these  many  kindnesses. 

He  wishes  especially  to  acknowledge  his  obligations 
to  the  following  gentlemen :  Mr.  Graham  Wallas  of  the 
University  of  London;  Mr.  W.  G.  Towler  of  the  Lon- 
don Municipal  Society;  Mr.  John  Hobson  of  London, 
and  Mr.  J.  S.  Middleton,  assistant  secretary  of  the 
Labor  Party;  to  Dr.  Robert  Herz  and  Prof.  Charles 
Gide  of  the  University  of  Paris;  Dr.  Albert  Thomas 
and  M.  Adolphe  Landry  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies; 
M.  Jean  Longuet,  editor  of  L'Humanite;  to  Dr.  Franz 
Oppenheimer  of  the  University  of  Berlin;  Dr.  Siide- 
kum  of  the  Reichstag;  Dr.  Hilferding,  editor  of 
Vorw'drts;  Prof.  T.  H.  Norton,  American  Consul  at 
Chemnitz;  M.  Camille  Huysmans,  secretary  of  the 
"  International,"  Brussels ;  as  well  as  to  many  Amer- 
ican friends  for  providing  letters  of  introduction  which 
opened  many  useful  and  congenial  doorways. 

S.  P.  O. 

January,  1913. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I.    WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST? i 

II.     THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM         .        .        .        .17 

III.  THE    POLITICAL    AWAKENING    OF    SOCIALISM  —  THE 

PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION    ......  42 

IV.  THE  POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM — THE  IN- 

TERNATIONAL $6 

V.    THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       ....  75 

VI.    THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY 118 

VII.    THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY        ....  146 

VIII.    GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY  AND  LABOR  UNIONS       .  171 

IX.    THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY 207 

X.     CONCLUSION 250 

APPENDIX 273 

INDEX 347 


SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY 
IN  EUROPE 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION— WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM 
EXIST? 

THE  answer  to  this  question  will  bring  us  nearer 
to  the  core  of  the  social  movement  than  any  attempted 
definition.  The  French  Socialist  program  begins  with 
the  assertion,  "  Socialism  is  a  question  of  class." 
Class  distinction  is  the  generator  of  Socialism. 

The  ordinary  social  triptych — upper,  middle,  and 
lower  classes — will  not  suffice  us  in  our  inquiry.  We 
must  distinguish  between  the  functions  of  the  classes. 
The  upper  class  is  a  remnant  of  the  feudal  days,  of 
the  manorial  times,  when  land-holding  brought  with 
it  social  distinction  and  political  prerogative.  In  this 
sense  we  have  no  upper  class  in  America.  The  middle 
class  is  composed  of  the  business  and  professional 
element,  and  the  lower  class  of  the  wage-earning  ele- 
ment. 

There  are  two  words,  as  yet  quite  unfamiliar  to 
American  readers,  which  are  met  with  constantly  in 
European  works  on  Socialism  and  are  heard  on  every 
hand  in  political  discussions — proletariat  and  bour- 
geois. The  proletariat  are  the  wage-earning  class,  the 


2     SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

poor,  the  underlings.  The  bourgeois  1  are  roughly  the 
middle  class.  The  French  divide  them  into  petits 
bourgeois  and  grands  bourgeois.  Werner  Sombart 
divides  them  into  lower  middle  class,  the  man- 
ual laborers  who  represent  the  guild  system,  and 
bourgeoisie,  the  representatives  of  the  capitalistic 
system.2 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  these  divisions  have  a 
historical  basis.  The  upper  class  reflect  the  days  of 
feudalism,  of  governmental  prerogative  and  aristoc- 
racy. The  middle  class  are  the  representatives  of  the 
guild  and  mercantile  systems,  when  hand  labor  and 
later  business  acumen  brought  power  and  wealth  to  the 
craftsman  and  adventurer.  The  lower  class  are  the 
homologues  of  the  slaves,  the  serfs,  the  toilers,  whose 
reward  has  constantly  been  measured  by  the  standard 
of  bare  existence.  Socialism  arises  consciously  out 
of  the  efforts  of  this  class  to  win  for  itself  a  share 
of  the  powers  of  the  other  classes.  It  is  necessary  to 
understand  that  while  this  class  distinction  is  historic 
in  origin  it  is  essentially  economic  in  fact.  It  is  not 
"  social  " ;  a  middle-class  millionaire  may  be  congenial 
to  the  social  circles  of  the  high-born.  It  is  not  politi- 
cal; a  workingman  may  vote  with  any  party  he 
chooses.  He  may  ally  himself  with  the  conservative 
Center  as  he  sometimes  does  in  Germany,  or  with  the 
Liberal  Party  as  he  sometimes  does  in  England,  or 
with  either  of  the  old  parties  as  he  does  in  the  United 

*"By  bourgeoisie  is  meant  the  class  of  modern  capitalists, 
owners  of  the  means  of  social  production,  and  employers  of  wage- 
labor.  By  proletariat,  the  class  of  modern  wage-laborers,  who, 
having  no  means  of  production  of  their  own,  are  reduced  to 
selling  their  labor  power  in  order  to  live." — FREDERICK  ENGELS, 
Notes  on  the  Communist  Manifesto,  1888. 

'  See  SOMBART,  Socialism  and  the  Social  Movement,  Intro- 
duction, for  discussion  of  the  class  movement. 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  3 

States.  On  the  other  hand,  a  bourgeois  may  be  a 
Socialist  and  vote  with  the  proletarians.  Indeed,  many 
of  the  Socialist  leaders  belong  to  the  well-to-do  middle 
class. 

This  class  distinction,  then,  is  economic.  It  is  a 
distinction  of  function,  the  function  of  the  capitalist 
and  the  function  of  the  wage-earner.  Let  us  go  one 
step  further;  it  is  a  distinction  in  property.  The 
possessor  of  private  wealth  can  become  a  capitalist 
by  investing  his  money  in  productive  enterprise.  He 
then  becomes  the  employer  of  labor.  There  are  all 
grades  of  capitalists,  from  the  master  wagon-maker 
who  works  by  the  side  of  his  one  or  two  workmen, 
to  the  "  captain  "  of  a  vast  industry  that  gives  em- 
ployment to  thousands  of  men  and  turns  out  a  wagon 
a  minute. 

The  institution  of  private  property  is  the  basis  of 
Socialism  because  it  is  the  basis  of  capitalistic  pro- 
duction. It  places  in  one  man's  hands  the  power  of 
owning  raw  material,  machinery,  land,  factory,  and 
finished  product;  and  the  power  of  hiring  men  to 
operate  the  machinery,  and  to  convert  the  raw  ma- 
terial into  marketable  wares.  As  long  as  this  power 
was  limited  to  hand  industry  the  proletarian  move- 
ment was  abortive.  When  the  industrial  revolution 
linked  the  ingenuity  of  man  to  the  power  of  nature 
it  so  multiplied  the  potency  of  the  possessor  that  the 
proletarian  movement  by  stress  of  circumstances  be- 
came a  great  factor  in  industrial  life. 

While  the  possession  either  of  wealth  or  family  tra- 
dition was  always  the  basis  of  class  distinction,  the 
industrial  revolution  brought  with  it  the  enormously 
multiplied  power  of  capital  and  the  glorification  of 
riches.  The  proletarians  multiplied  rapidly  in  num- 


4     SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

her,  and  all  the  evils  of  sharp  class  distinction  were 
heightened.  In  all  lands  where  capitalistic  produc- 
tion spread,  the  two  classes  grew  farther  apart,  the 
distinction  between  possessor  and  wage-earner  in- 
creased. 

It  is  not  the  mere  possession  of  wealth,  however, 
which  forms  the  animus  of  the  Socialist  movement. 
It  is  probably  not  even  the  abuse  of  this  wealth,  al- 
though this  is  a  large  factor  in  the  problem.  It  is 
the  psychological  effect  of  the  capitalist  system  that 
is  the  real  enginery  of  Socialism.  It  is  the  class  feel- 
ing, the  consciousness  of  the  workingman  that  he  is 
contributing  muscle  and  blood  and  sweat  to  the  per- 
fection of  an  article  whose  possession  he  does  not 
share.  This  feeling  is  aroused  by  the  contrasts  of 
life  that  the  worker  constantly  sees  around  him.  He 
feels  that  his  own  life  energy  has  contributed  to 
the  magnificent  equipages  and  the  palatial  luxuries 
of  his  employer.  He  compares  his  own  lot  and 
that  of  his  family  with  the  lot  of  the  capitalist. 
This  feeling  of  envy  is  not  blunted  by  the  kaleido- 
scopic suddenness  with  which  changes  of  fortune  can 
take  place  in  America  to-day.  By  some  stroke  of 
luck  or  piece  of  ingenious  planning,  a  receiver  of 
wages  to-day  may  be  the  giver  of  wages  to-morrow. 

Nor  does  the  spread  of  education  and  intelligence 
dull  the  contrasts.  It  greatly  heightens  them.  The 
workman  can  now  begin  to  analyze  the  conditions 
under  which  he  lives.  He  ponders  over  the  distinc- 
tions that  are  actual  and  contrasts  them  with  his 
imagined  Utopia.  To  him  the  differences  between 
employer  and  employee  are  not  natural.  He  does  not 
attribute  them  to  any  fault  or  shortcoming  or  in- 
feriority of  his  own,  nor  of  his  master,  but  to  a 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  5 

flaw  in  the  organization  of  society.  The  social  order 
is  wrong. 

The  workingman  has  become  the  critic.  Here  you 
have  the  heart  of  Socialism.  Whatever  form  its  out- 
ward aspect  may  take,  at  heart  it  is  a  rebellion  against 
things  as  they  are.  And  whatever  may  be  the  syllo- 
gisms of  its  logic,  or  the  formularies  of  its  philosophy, 
they  all  begin  with  a  grievance,  that  things  as  they  are 
are  wrong;  and  they  all  end  in  a  hope  for  a  better 
society  of  to-morrow  where  the  inequalities  shall  some- 
how be  made  right. 

In  his  struggle  toward  a  new  economic  ideal,  the 
proletarian  has  achieved  a  class  homogeneity  and  self- 
consciousness.  The  individuality  that  is  denied  him 
in  industry  he  has  sought  and  found  among  his  own 
brethren.  In  the  great  factory  he  loses  even  his  name 
and  becomes  number  so-and-so.  In  his  union  and  in 
his  party  he  asserts  his  individuality  with  a  grim  and 
impressive  stubbornness.  The  gravitation  of  com- 
mon ideals  and  common  protests  draws  these  forgotten 
particles  of  industrialism  into  a  massed  consciousness 
that  is  to-day  one  of  the  world's  great  potencies.  The 
very  fact  that  we  call  this  body  of  workers  "  the 
masses  "  is  significant.  We  speak  of  them  as  a  geolo- 
gist speaks  of  his  "  basement  complex."  We  recog- 
nize unconsciously  that  they  form  the  foundation  of 
our  economic  life. 

The  class  struggle,  then,  is  between  two  clearly  de- 
fined and  self-conscious  elements  in  modern  industrial 
life  that  are  the  natural  product  of  our  machine  in- 
dustry. On  the  one  hand  is  the  business  man  pursu- 
ing with  fevered  energy  the  profits  that  are  the  goal 
of  his  activity;  on  the  other  hand  are  the  working- 
men  who,  more  and  more  sullen  in  their  discontent, 


6     SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

are  clamoring  louder  each  year  for  a  greater  share 
of  the  wealth  they  believe  their  toil  creates. 

There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  this  class  basis 
of  Socialism  is  vanishing.  In  England  J.  Ramsay 
MacDonald  denies  its  significance.3  Revisionists  and 
progressive  Socialists,  who  are  throwing  aside  the 
Marxian  dogmas,  are  also  preaching  the  universality 
of  the  Socialist  conception.  However,  the  economic 
factor  based  on  class  functions  remains  the  essence 
of  the  social  movement.4 

What  are  the  ideals  of  Socialism?  They  are  not 
merely  economic  or  social,  they  embrace  all  life. 
After  one  has  taken  the  pains  to  read  the  more  im- 
portant mass  of  Socialist  literature,  books,  pamphlets, 
and  some  current  newspapers  and  magazines,  and  has 
listened  to  their  orators  and  talked  with  their  leaders, 
confusion  still  remains  in  the  mind.  The  movement 
is  so  all-embracing  that  it  has  no  clearly  defined  limits. 
The  Socialists  are  feeling  their  way  from  protest  into 
practice.  Their  heads  are  in  the  clouds;  of  this  you 
are  certain  as  you  proceed  through  their  books  and 
listen  to  their  speeches.  But  are  their  feet  upon  the 
earth? 

For  a  literature  of  protest  against  "  suffering,  mis- 
ery, and  injustice,"  as  Owen  calls  it,  there  is  a  won- 
derful buoyancy  and  hope  in  their  words.  It  is  one 
of  the  secrets  of  its  power  that  Socialism  is  not  the 
energy  of  despair.  It  is  the  demand  for  the  right 
to  live  fully,  joyfully,  and  in  comfort.  The  Socialists 

*  The  Socialist  Movement,  p.   147. 

4  The  all-embracing  character  of  Socialism  was  eloquently 
phrased  by  Millerand  in  1896 :  "  In  its  large  synthesis  Socialism 
embraces  every  manifestation  of  life,  because  nothing  human 
is  alien  to  it,  because  it  alone  offers  to-day  to  our  hunger  for 
justice  and  happiness  an  ideal,  purely  human  and  apart  from  all 
dogma."  See  ENSOR,  Modern  Socialism,  p.  53. 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  7 

demand  ozone  in  their  air,  nutrition  in  their  food, 
heartiness  in  their  laughter,  ease  in  their  homes,  and 
their  days  must  have  hours  of  relaxation. 

The  awakening  aspirations  of  the  proletarian  were 
expressed  by  one  of  their  own  number,  William  Weit- 
ling,  a  tailor  of  Magdeburg.  He  afterwards  migrated 
to  America  and  became  one  of  our  first  Socialist 
agitators.  His  book  is  called  Garantieen  der  Har- 
monie  und  Freiheit  (Guaranties  of  Harmony  and  Lib- 
erty). The  book  is  illogical,  full  of  contradictions, 
and  all  of  the  errors  of  a  child's  reasoning.  But  it 
remains  the  workingman's  classic  philippic,  one  of 
the  most  trenchant  recitals  of  social  wrongs,  because 
it  blends,  with  the  illogical  terminology  of  sen- 
timentalism,  the  assurance  of  hope.  "  Property,"  he 
says,  "  is  the  root  of  all  evil."  Gold  is  the  symbol  of 
this  world  of  wrongs.  "  We  have  become  as  accus- 
tomed to  our  coppers  as  the  devil  to  his  hell."  When 
the  rule  of  gold  shall  cease,  then  "  the  teardrops  which 
are  the  tokens  of  true  brotherliness  will  return  to  the 
dry  eyes  of  the  selfish,  the  soul  of  the  evildoer  will  be 
filled  with  noble  and  virtuous  sentiments  such  as  he 
had  never  known  before,  and  the  impious  ones  who 
have  hitherto  denied  God  will  sing  His  praise."  The 
humble  tailor  is  assured  that  the  reign  of  property 
will  be  terminated  and  the  age  of  humanity  begin, 
and  he  calls  to  the  workingmen,  "  Forward,  brethren ; 
with  the  curse  of  Mammon  on  our  lips,  let  us  await 
the  hour  of  our  emancipation,  when  our  tears  will  be 
transmuted  into  pearls  of  dew,  our  earth  transformed 
into  a  paradise,  and  all  of  mankind  united  into  one 
happy  family."  B  Nor  is  the  closing  cry  of  his  book 

1  Garantieen  der  Harmonic  und  Freiheit,  pp.  57-58,  edition  of 
1845- 


8     SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

without  an  element  of  prophecy.  He  addresses  the 
"  mighty  ones  of  this  earth,"  admonishing  them  that 
they  may  secure  the  fame  of  Alexander  and  Na- 
poleon by  the  deeds  of  emancipation  which  lie  in 
their  power.  "  But  if  you  compel  us  (the  pro- 
letarians) to  undertake  the  task  alone  with  our  raw 
material,  then  it  will  be  accomplished  only  after  weary 
toil  and  pain  to  us  and  to  you." 

Let  us  turn  to  Robert  Owen,  who  was  at  an  early 
age  the  most  successful  cotton  spinner  in  England. 
He  adapted  an  old  philosophy  to  a  new  humanitarian- 
ism.  He  saw  that  a  "  gradual  increase  in  the  number 
of  our  paupers  has  accompanied  our  increasing 
wealth."  6  He  began  the  series  of  experiments  which 
made  his  name  familiar  in  England  and  America  and 
made  him  known  in  history  as  the  greatest  experimen- 
tal communist.  His  experiments  have  failed.  But  his 
hopefulness  persists.  In  his  address  delivered  at  the 
dedication  of  New  Lanark,  1816,  he  said  that  he  had 
found  plenty  of  unhappiness  and  plenty  of  misery. 
"  But  from  this  day  a  change  must  take  place;  a  new 
era  must  commence;  the  human  intellect,  through  the 
whole  extent  of  the  earth,  hitherto  enveloped  by  the 
grossest  ignorance  and  superstition,  must  begin  to  be 
released  from  its  state  of  darkness;  nor  shall  nourish- 
ment henceforth  be  given  to  the  seeds  of  disunion  and 
division  among  men.  For  the  time  has  come  when  the 
means  may  be  prepared  to  train  all  the  nations  of  the 
world  in  that  knowledge  which  shall  impel  them  not 
only  to  love  but  to  be  actively  kind  to  each  other  in 
the  whole  of  their  conduct,  without  a  single  excep- 
tion." 

Here  is  an  all-inclusive  hopefulness.     Its  signifi- 

•  Letter  I,  addressed  to  David  Ricardo. 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  9 

cance  is  not  diminished  by  the  fact  that  it  was  spoken 
of  his  own  peculiar  remedy  by  education  and  environ- 
ment. 

This  faith  and  hope  runs  through  all  their  books 
like  a  golden  song.  Excepting  Marx,  he  was  the  great 
gloomy  one.  Even  those  who  condemn  modern  so- 
ciety with  the  most  scathing  adjectives  link  with  their 
denunciations  the  most  sanguine  sentences  of  hope. 

The  Christian  Socialism  of  Kingsley  is  filled  with 
optimism.  "  Look  up,  my  brother  Christians,  open 
your  eyes,  the  hour  of  a  new  crusade  has  struck."  T 

The  song  of  the  new  crusade  was  sung  by  Robert 
Morris : 

"  Come,  shoulder  to  shoulder  ere  the  world  grows  older ! 

Help  lies  in  naught  but  thee  and  me ; 
Hope  is  before  us,  the  long  years  that  bore  us, 
Bore  leaders  more  than  men  may  be. 

"Let  dead  hearts  tarry  and  trade  and  marry, 

And  trembling  nurse  their  dreams  of  mirth, 
While  we,  the  living,  our  lives  are  giving 
To  bring  the  bright  new  world  to  birth." 

This  song  of  hope  is  sung  to-day  by  thousands  of 
marching  Socialists.  Their  bitter  experiences  in  par- 
liaments and  in  strikes,  and  all  the  warfare  of  politics 
and  trade,  have  not  blighted  their  rosy  hope.  They 
are  still  looking  forward  to  "  the  bright  new  world," 
in  which  a  new  social  order  shall  reign. 

Linked  with  this  optimism  is  a  certain  prophetic 
tone,  an  elevation  of  spirit  that  lifts  some  of  their 
books  out  of  the  commonplace.  The  sincerity  of 
these  prophets  of  Socialism  contributes  this  quality 
more  than  does  their  originality  of  mind. 

In  their  search  for  happiness  the  Socialists  see  a 

'Tract  No.  IV. 


io   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

great  barrier  in  their  way.  The  barrier  is  want, 
poverty.  There  are  no  greater  contrasts,  mental  and 
temperamental,  than  between  John  Stuart  Mill,  the 
erudite  economist  and  philosopher,  and  H.  G.  Wells, 
the  romancer  and  sentimental  critic  of  things  as  they 
are.  Both  begin  their  attacks  upon  the  social  order 
at  the  same  point — the  vulnerable  spot,  poverty.  Mill 
places  it  first  in  his  category  of  existing  evils.  He 
asks,  "  What  proportion  of  the  population  in  the  most 
civilized  countries  of  Europe  enjoy,  in  their  own  per- 
son, anything  worth  naming  of  the  benefits  of  prop- 
erty? "  "  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  condition  of  num- 
bers in  civilized  Europe,  and  even  in  England  and 
France,  is  more  wretched  than  that  of  most  tribes  of 
savages  who  are  known  to  us."  8 

Wells  bases  his  racy  criticism  in  his  popular  book, 
New  Worlds  for  Old,  on  the  facts  revealed  in  the  re- 
ports of  various  charity  organizations  in  Edinburgh, 
York,  and  London.  To  both  the  exacting  economist 
and  the  popular  expositor  of  Socialism,  poverty  is  the 
glaring  fault  of  our  social  system.  To  Wells  poverty 
is  an  "  atrocious  failure  in  statesmanship."  9  To  Mill 
it  is  "  pro  tanto  a  failure  of  the  social  arrangement."  10 

These  examples  are  typical.  Every  school  of  So- 
cialism finds  in  poverty  the  curse,  in  private  property 
the  cause,  of  human  misery,  and  in  a  readjusted  ma- 
chinery of  social  production  the  hope  of  human  bet- 
terment. 

All  Socialists,  learned  and  unlearned,  agree  that 
poverty  is  the  stumbling-block  in  the  pathway  to  better 
social  conditions.  They  all  agree  as  to  the  causes  of 

*  Socialism,  pp.  71-72. 

'WELLS,  New  Worlds  for  Old,  p.  36. 

10  MILL,  Socialism,  p.  72. 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  11 

poverty:  first,  private  capitalistic  production;  second, 
competition.  It  is  private  capitalistic  production  that 
enables  the  employer  to  pocket  all  the  profits;  it  is 
competition  that  enables  him  to  buy  labor  in  an  open 
market  at  the  lowest  possible  price,  a  price  regulated  by 
the  necessities  of  bare  existence.  To  the  Socialist, 
competition  is  anarchy,  an  anarchy  that  leaves  "  every 
man  free  to  ruin  himself  so  that  he  may  ruin  an- 
other." " 

To  do  away  with  private  capital  and  to  abolish 
competition  means  bringing  about  a  tremendous 
change  in  society.  All  Socialists  unhesitatingly  and 
with  boldness  are  ready,  even  eager,  to  make  such  a 
change.  The  problem  is  not  insuperable  to  them. 

The  three  theories  that  underlie  Socialism  permit 
the  hope  of  the  possibility  of  a  social  regeneration. 
These  theories  are,  first,  that  God  made  the  world 
good,  hence  all  you  need  to  do  is  to  revert  to  this 
pristine  goodness  and  the  world  is  reformed.  Second, 
that  society  is  what  it  is  through  evolution.  If  this 
is  true  then  it  is  only  necessary  to  control  by  environ- 
ment the  factors  of  evolution  and  the  product  will  be 
preordained.  Third,  that  even  if  man  is  bad  and  has 
permitted  pernicious  institutions  like  private  property 
to  exist,  he  can  remake  society  by  a  bold  effort,  i.e.,  by 
revolution,  because  all  social  power  is  vested  in  man 
and  he  can  do  as  he  likes.  The  ruling  class  can  im- 
pose its  social  order  upon  all.  When  the  Socialist 
becomes  the  ruling  class  his  social  system  will  be 
adopted. 

This  great  change  which  the  Socialist  has  in  mind 
means  the  substitution  of  co-operation  for  competition 
and  the  placing  of  productive  property  in  the  care  of 

"Louis  BLANC,  The  Right  to  Labor,  p.  63. 


12    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

the  state  or  of  society,  instead  of  letting  it  remain 
under  the  domination  of  individuals.  To  abolish  pri- 
vate productive  capital  by  making  it  public,  to  estab- 
lish a  communistic  instead  of  a  competitive  society, 
that  is  the  object. 

In  the  Socialist's  new  order  of  society,  where  poverty 
will  be  unknown,  there  is  to  be  a  common  bond.  This 
bond  is  not  possession,  but  work.  With  glowing  ex- 
ultation all  the  expositors  and  exhorters  of  the  pro- 
letarian movement  dwell  upon  the  blessedness  of  toil. 
They  glorify  man,  not  through  his  inheritance  of 
personality,  certainly  not  through  his  possession  of 
things,  but  through  his  achievements  of  toil. 

When  all  members  of  society  work  at  useful  occu- 
pations, then  all  the  necessary  things  can  be  done  in 
a  few  hours.  Six  or  four,  or  some  even  say  two, 
hours  a  day  will  be  sufficient  to  do  all  the  drudgery 
and  the  essential  things  in  a  well-organized  human 
beehive.  There  is  to  be  nothing  morose  or  de- 
spondent in  this  toil.  It  is  all  to  be  done  to  the  melody 
of  good  cheer  and  willingness. 

How  is  this  great  change  to  come  about,  and  what 
is  to  be  the  exact  organization  of  society  under  this 
regime  of  work  and  co-operation?  Here  unanimity 
ceases.  As  a  criticism  Socialism  is  unanimous,  as  a 
method  it  is  divided,  as  a  reconstructive  process  it  is 
hopelessly  at  sea. 

At  first  Socialists  were  Utopians,  then  they  became 
revolutionists.  This  was  natural.  Socialism  was 
born  in  an  air  of  revolution — the  political  revolutions 
of  the  bourgeois,  and  the  infinitely  greater  industrial 
revolution.  The  tides  of  change  and  passion  were 
rocking  the  foundations  of  state  and  industry.  The 
evils  in  early  industrialism  were  abhorrent.  Small 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  13 

children  and  their  mothers  were  forced  into  factories, 
pauperism  was  thriving,  the  ugly  machine-fed  towns 
were  replacing  the  quaint  and  cheerful  villages,  rulers 
were  forgetting  their  duties  in  their  greed  for  gain, 
and  the  state  was  persecuting  men  for  their  political 
and  economic  opinions.  Every  face  was  turned 
against  the  preachers  of  the  new  order,  and  they 
naturally  thought  that  the  change  could  be  brought 
about  only  by  violence  and  revolution.  Louis  Blanc 
said  "  a  social  revolution  ought  to  be  tried : 

"  Firstly,  because  the  present  social  system  is  too 
full  of  iniquity,  misery,  and  turpitude  to  exist  much 
longer. 

"  Secondly,  because  there  is  no  one  who  is  not  in- 
terested, whatever  his  position,  rank,  and  fortune,  in 
the  inauguration  of  a  new  social  system. 

"  Thirdly,  and  lastly,  because  this  revolution,  so 
necessary,  is  possible,  even  easy  to  accomplish  peace- 
fully." 12 

These  are  the  naive  words  of  a  young  man  of 
thirty-seven,  the  youngest  member  of  the  ill-fated 
revolutionary  government  of  France  in  1848.  Not 
every  one  thought  that  the  revolution  could  be  peace- 
fully accomplished,  and,  it  must  be  admitted,  few 
seemed  to  care. 

In  their  "  Communist  Manifesto,"  the  most  noted  of 
all  Socialist  broadsides,  Marx  and  Engels  know  of 
no  peaceful  revolution.  They  close  with  these  virile 
words :  "  The  communists  disdain  to  conceal  their 
views  and  aims.  They  openly  declare  that  their  ends 
can  be  attained  only  by  the  forcible  overthrow  of 
all  existing  conditions.  Let  the  ruling  classes  tremble 
at  a  communistic  revolution.  The  proletarians  have 

"Organisation  of  Labor,  p.  87,  1847. 


14   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

nothing  to  lose  but  their  chains.  They  have  the  world 
to  win.  Workingmen  of  all  countries,  unite!" 

These  words  are  often  quoted  even  in  these  placid 
days  of  evolution  that  have  replaced  the  red  days  of 
violence.  The  workingmen  of  all  countries  are  unit- 
ing, as  we  shall  see,  not  for  bloody  revolution  nor 
for  the  violence  of  passion,  but  for  the  promulgation 
of  peace.  To-day  the  silent  coercion  of  multitudes  is 
taking  the  place  of  the  eruptive  methods  of  the  '40*3 
and  the  '7o's. 

As  to  the  ultimate  form  of  organized  society,  there 
is  nothing  but  confusion  to  be  found  in  the  mass  of 
literature  that  has  grown  up  around  the  subject.  The 
earliest  writers  were  cocksure  of  themselves ;  the  latest 
ones  bridge  over  the  question  with  wide-arching  gen- 
eralities. I  have  asked  many  of  their  leaders  to  give 
me  some  hint  as  to  what  form  their  Society  of  To- 
morrow will  take.  Every  one  dodged.  "  No  one 
can  tell.  It  will  be  humanitarian  and  co-operative." 

If  one  could  be  assured  of  this! 

Finally,  all  Socialists  agree  in  the  instrument  of 
change.  It  lies  at  hand  as  the  greatest  co-operative 
achievement  of  our  race,  the  state.  It  is  the  common 
possession  of  all,  and  it  is  the  one  power  that  can 
lay  its  hands  upon  property  and  compel  its  obedience. 
The  power  of  the  state  is  to  be  the  dynamo  of 
change.  This  state  is  naturally  to  be  democratic. 
The  people  shall  hold  the  reins  of  power  in  their  own 
hands. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  every  year  sees  a  shift- 
ing in  the  Socialist's  attitude.  As  he  has  left  the 
sphere  of  mere  fault-finding  and  of  dreaming,  and 
has  entered  politics,  entered  the  labor  war  through 
unions,  and  the  business  war  through  co-operative 


WHY  DOES  SOCIALISM  EXIST?  15 

societies,  he  has  been  compelled  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  necessities  of  things  as  they  are. 

I  have  tried  briefly  to  show  that  Socialism  origi- 
nated as  a  class  movement,  a  proletarian  movement; 
that  the  classes,  wage-earner  and  capitalist,  are  the 
natural  outcome  of  machine  production;  that  Social- 
ism is  one  of  the  natural  products  of  the  antagonistic 
relations  that  these  two  classes  at  present  occupy;  that 
Socialism  intends  to  eliminate  this  antagonism  by 
eliminating  the  private  employer.  I  have  tried  to 
show  also  that  Socialism  is  a  criticism  of  the  present 
social  order  placing  the  blame  for  the  miseries  of 
society  upon  the  shoulders  of  private  property  and 
competition;  that  it  is  optimistic  in  spirit,  buoyant  in 
hope;  and  that  its  program  of  reconstruction  is  con- 
fused and  immature. 

Stripped  of  its  glamour,  our  society  is  in  a  neck-to- 
neck  race  for  things,  for  property.  Its  hideousness 
has  shocked  the  sensibilities  of  dreamers  and  humani- 
tarians. Our  machine  industry  has  produced  a  civili- 
zation that  is  ugly.  It  is  natural  that  the  esthetic 
and  philanthropic  members  of  this  society  should  raise 
their  protest.  Ruskin  and  Anatole  France  and 
Maeterlinck  and  Carlyle  and  Robert  Morris  and  Em- 
erson and  Grierson  are  read  with  increasing  satisfac- 
tion. It  is  natural  that  the  participants  in  this  death 
race  should  utter  their  cries  of  alternate  despair  and 
hope.  Socialism  is  the  cry  of  the  toiler.  It  is  not  to 
be  ignored.  We  in  America  have  no  conception  of  its 
potency.  There  are  millions  of  hearts  in  Europe 
hanging  upon  its  precepts  for  the  hope  that  makes 
life  worth  the  fight. 

Their  Utopia  may  be  only  a  rainbow,  a  mirage  in 
the  mists  on  the  horizon.  But  the  energy  which  it 


has  inspired  is  a  reality.  It  has  organized  the  largest 
body  of  human  beings  that  the  world  has  known.  Its 
international  Socialist  movement  has  but  one  rival  for 
homogeneity  and  zeal,  the  Church,  whose  organiza- 
tion at  one  time  embraced  all  kingdoms  and  enlisted 
the  faithful  service  of  princes  and  paupers. 

It  is  this  reality  in  its  political  form  which  I  hope 
to  set  forth  in  the  following  pages.  We  will  try  to 
discover  what  the  Socialist  movement  is  doing  in  poli- 
tics, how  much  of  theory  has  been  merged  in  political 
practice,  what  its  everyday  parliamentary  drudgery 
is,  and,  if  possible,  to  tell  in  what  direction  the  move- 
ment is  tending. 

Before  we  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  state  briefly 
the  history  of  the  underlying  theories  of  the  move- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM 


SOCIALISM  began  in  France,  that  yeast-pot  of  civili- 
zation. It  began  while  the  Revolution  was  still  filling 
men's  minds  with  a  turbulent  optimism  that  knew  no 
limit  to  human  "  progress." 

Saint-Simon  (Count  Henri  de)  may  be  considered 
the  founder  of  French  Socialism.  He  was  of  noble 
lineage,  born  in  1760,  and  died  in  1825.  He  took 
very  little  part  in  the  French  Revolution,  but  was  a 
soldier  in  our  Continental  army,  and  always  mani- 
fested a  keen  interest  in  American  affairs.  Possessed 
of  an  inquiring  mind,  an  ambitious  spirit,  and  a  heart 
full  of  sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  study  of  society  for  the  purpose  of  elabo- 
rating a  scheme  for  universal  human  betterment. 

Before  he  began  his  special  studies  he  amassed  a 
modest  fortune  in  land  speculation.  Not  that  he  loved 
money,  he  assures  us,  but  because  he  wished  independ- 
ence and  leisure  to  do  his  chosen  work.  This  money 
was  soon  lost,  through  unfortunate  experiments  and 
an  unfortunate  marriage,  and  the  most  of  his  days 
were  spent  in  penury. 

He  attracted  to  himself  a  number  of  the  most  bril- 
liant young  men  in  France,  among  them  De  Lesseps, 
who  subsequently  carried  out  one  of  the  plans  of  his 
master,  the  Suez  Canal ;  and  Auguste  Comte,  who  em- 

«7 


i8   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

bodied  in  his  positivism  the  philosophical  teachings 
of  Saint-Simon. 

Saint-Simon  believed  that  society  needed  to  be  en- 
tirely reorganized  on  a  "  scientific  basis,"  and  that 
"  the  whole  of  society  ought  to  labor  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the- moral  and  physical  condition  of  the  poorest 
class.  Society  ought  to  organize  itself  in  the  manner 
the  most  suitable  for  the  attainment  of  this  great 
end."  1 

The  two  counteracting  motives  or  spirits  in  society 
are  the  spirit  of  antagonism  and  the  spirit  of  associa- 
tion. Hitherto  the  spirit  of  antagonism  has  prevailed, 
and  misery  has  resulted.  Let  the  spirit  of  association 
rule,  and  the  evils  will  vanish. 

Under  the  rule  of  antagonism,  property  has  become 
the  possession  of  the  few,  poverty  and  misery  the  lot 
of  the  many.  Both  property  and  poverty  are  inher- 
ited, therefore  the  state  should  abolish  all  laws  of 
inheritance,  take  all  property  under  its  dominion,  and 
let  society  be  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  instruments 
of  labor  and  of  the  fund  that  labor  creates. 

Through  the  teachings  of  Saint-Simon  runs  a  con- 
stant stream  of  religious  fervor.  In  Christianity  he 
found  the  moral  doctrine  that  gave  sanction  to  his 
social  views.  He  sought  the  primitive  Christianity, 
stripped  of  the  dogmas  and  opinions  of  the  centuries. 
In  his  principal  work,  Nouveau  Christianisme  (New 
Christianity),  he  subjects  the  teachings  of  Catholi- 
cism and  Protestantism  to  ingenious  criticism,  and 
finds  in  the  teachings  of  Christ  the  essential  moral 
elements  necessary  for  a  society  based  on  the  spirit 
of  association. 

Saint-Simon  was  a  humanitarian  rather  than  a  sys- 

*New  Christianity,  p.  38,  English  edition,  1834. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM       19 

tematic  thinker.  His  analysis  of  society  is  ingenious 
rather  than  constructive.  His  teachings  were  elabo- 
rated by  his  followers,  who  organized  themselves  into 
a  school  called  the  "  Sacred  College  of  the  Apostles," 
with  Bazard  and  Enfantin  as  their  leaders.  They 
were  accused,  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  of  pro- 
mulgating communism  of  property  and  wives.  Their 
defense,  dated  October,  1830,  and  issued  as  a  booklet, 
is  the  best  exposition  of  their  views.  They  said  that : 
"  We  demand  that  land,  capital,  and  all  the  instru- 
ments of  labor  shall  become  common  property,  and 
be  so  managed  that  each  one's  portion  shall  cor- 
respond to  his  capacity,  and  his  reward  to  his  labors." 
"  Like  the  early  Christians,  we  demand  that  one  man 
should  be  united  to  one  woman,  but  we  teach  that 
the  wife  should  be  the  equal  of  the  husband." 

On  the  question  of  marriage,  however,  the  sect  split 
soon  after  this  defense  was  written.  Enfantin  be- 
came a  defender  of  free  love,  and  inaugurated  a  fan- 
tastic sacerdotalism  which  drove  Bazard  from  the 
"  Sacred  College."  2 

The  second  French  social  philosopher  of  the 
Utopian  school  was  Frangois  Marie  Charles  Fourier 
(1772-1837).  He  was  a  bourgeois,  son  of  a  draper, 
and  brought  as  keen  an  intellect  as  did  his  noble  fel- 
low-countryman, Saint-Simon,  to  the  analysis  of  so- 
ciety, and  a  much  more  practical  experience.  In  his 
youth  he  had  been  employed  in  various  business  en- 

a  Saint-Simon's  principal  writings  are :  Lettres  d'un  Habitant 
de  Gentve,  1803;  L'Organisateur,  1819;  Du  Systeme  Industriel, 
1821 ;  Catechisme  des  Industriels,  1823 ;  Nouveau  Christianisme, 
1825.  See  A.  J.  EARTH  Saint-Simon  and  Saint-Simonism,  Lon- 
don, 1871 ;  REYBAUD,  Etudes  sur  les  Reformateurs  Modernes, 
Paris,  1864;  JANET,  Saint-Simon  et  le  Saint-Simonisme,  Paris, 
1878.  New  Christianity  was  translated  into  English  by  Rev.  J. 
E.  Smith,  London,  1834. 


20   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

terprises.  He  recalls,  in  his  works,  several  experi- 
ences which  he  never  forgot.  As  a  lad,  he  was  re- 
proached for  telling  a  prospective  customer  the  truth 
about  some  goods  in  his  father's  shop.  When  a  young 
man  of  twenty-seven  he  was  sent  to  Marseilles  to 
superintend  the  destruction  of  great  cargoes  of  rice 
that  had  been  held  for  higher  prices,  during  a  period 
of  scarcity  of  food  when  thousands  of  people  were 
suffering  from  hunger.  The  rice  had  spoiled  in  the 
waiting.  The  event  made  so  profound  an  impression 
upon  his  mind  that  he  resolved  to  devote  his  life  to 
the  betterment  of  an  economic  system  that  allowed 
such  wanton  waste. 

To  his  mind  the  problem  of  rebuilding  society  was 
practical,  not  metaphysical.  But  underlying  his  prac- 
tical solution  was  a  fantastic  cosmogony  and  psychol- 
ogy. He  reduced  everything  to  a  mathematical  sys- 
tem, and  even  computed  the  number  of  years  the 
world  would  spin  on  its  axis.  He  believed  that  God 
created  a  good  world,  and  that  man  has  desecrated  it ; 
that  the  function  of  the  social  reformer  is  to  under- 
stand the  design  of  the  Creator,  and  call  mankind 
back  to  this  original  plan,  back  to  the  original  im- 
pulses and  passions,  and  primitive  goodness. 

This  could  be  done  only  under  ideal  environment. 
Such  an  environment  he  proposed  to  create  in  huge 
caravansaries,  which  he  called  phalansteries.  Each 
group,  or  phalange,  was  composed  of  400  families,  or 
i, 800  persons,  living  on  a  large  square  of  land,  where 
they  could  be  self-contained  and  self-sufficient,  like 
the  manors  in  the  feudal  days.  The  phalanstery  was 
built  in  the  middle  of  the  tract,  and  was  merely  a 
glorified  apartment  house.  Every  one  chose  to  do 
the  work  he  liked  best.  Agriculture  and  manufacture 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM       21 

were  to  be  happily  blended,  and  individual  freedom 
given  full  sway.  Each  phalange  was  designed  to  be 
an  ideal  democracy,  electing  its  officers  and  governing 
itself.  The  principle  of  freedom  was  to  extend  even 
to  marriage  and  the  relation  of  the  sexes. 

It  was  Fourier's  belief  that  one  such  phalange  once 
established  would  so  impress  the  world  with  its  superi- 
ority that  society  would  be  glad  to  imitate  it.  Ere 
long  there  would  be  groups  of  phalanges  co-operating 
with  each  other,  and  ultimately  the  whole  world  would 
be  brought  into  one  vast  federation  of  phalanges, 
with  their  chief  center  at  Constantinople. 

The  general  plan  of  this  apartment-house  Utopia 
lent  itself  to  all  sorts  of  fantastic  details.  It  gained 
adherents  among  the  learned,  the  eager,  and  even  the 
rich,  and  a  number  of  experiments  were  tried.  All 
of  these  have  failed,  I  think,  excepting  only  the  com- 
munity at  Guise,  founded  by  Jean  Godin.  Here,  how- 
ever, the  fantasies  have  been  eliminated,  and  the  strong 
controlling  force  of  the  founder  has  made  it  prosper- 
ous. There  is  no  agriculture  connected  with  the  Guise 
establishment. 

A  number  of  Fourier  colonies,  most  of  them  modi- 
fications of  his  phalanstery  idea,  were  started  in  the 
United  States.  Of  thirty-four  such  experiments  tried 
in  America  all  have  failed.  The  most  famous  of  these 
attempts  was  Brook  Farm.3 

Robert  Owen  (1771-1858)  was  the  great  English 
Utopian.  He  was  the  son  of  a  small  trader.  Such 
was  his  business  ability  and  tenacity  of  character  that 
at  nineteen  years  of  age  he  was  superintendent  of  a 

8  The  best  popular  exposition  of  Fourierism  is  GATTI  DE  GAM- 
MONT'S  Fourier  et  Son  Systeme.  His  most  eminent  commenta- 
tor is  Victor  Cpnsiderant,  whose  Destinee  Sociale  is  the  most 
complete  analysis  of  Fourier's  System. 


22    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

cotton  mill  that  employed  500  hands.  His  business 
acumen  soon  made  him  rich,  his  philanthropic  im- 
pulses led  him  to  study  the  conditions  of  the  people 
who  worked  for  him.  In  1800  he  took  charge  of  the 
mills  at  New  Lanark.  There  he  had  under  him  as  piti- 
ful and  miserable  a  group  of  workmen  as  can  be  imag- 
ined. The  factory  system  made  wretchedness  the 
common  lot  of  the  English  workingman  of  this  period. 
The  hours  of  labor  were  intolerably  long,  the  homes 
of  the  working  people  unutterably  squalid,  women  and 
tiny  children  worked  all  day  under  the  most  unwhole- 
some conditions ;  vice,  drunkenness,  and  ignorance  were 
everywhere. 

Owen  began  as  a  practical  philanthropist.  He  im- 
proved the  sanitary  conditions  of  his  mills  and  town, 
was  the  first  employer  to  reasonably  shorten  the  hours 
of  work,  founded  primary  schools,  proposed  factory 
legislation,  and  founded  the  co-operative  movement 
that  has  grown  to  great  strength  in  England.  He 
was  one  of  the  powerful  men  of  the  island  at  this 
period.  He  had  the  enthusiastic  support  of  the 
queen,  of  many  nobles,  of  clergy  and  scholars.  But 
in  a  great  public  meeting  in  London  he  went  out  of  his 
way  to  denounce  the  accepted  forms  of  religion  and 
declare  his  independence  of  all  creeds,  an  offense  that 
the  English  people  never  forgive. 

By  this  time  he  had  perfected  his  scheme  for  social 
reform.  He  proposed  to  establish  communities  of 
1,000  to  1,200  persons  on  about  1,500  acres  of  land. 
They  were  to  live  in  an  enormous  building  in  the  form 
of  a  square,  each  family  to  have  its  own  apartments, 
but  kitchen  and  dining-room  to  be  in  common.  Every 
advantage  of  work,  education,  and  leisure  was  planned 
for  the  inmates. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      23 

A  number  of  Owenite  communities  were  founded 
in  England  and  America.  The  one  at  New  Harmony, 
Ind.,  was  the  most  pretentious,  and  in  it  Owen  sank 
a  large  portion  of  his  fortune.  None  of  the  experi- 
ments survived  their  founder.4 

The  Utopians  were  all  optimists — the  source  of  their 
optimism  was  the  social  philosophy  that  prevailed 
from  the  French  Revolution  to  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  It  was  the  philosophy  of  an  unbounded  faith 
in  the  goodness  of  human  nature.  A  good  God  made 
a  good  world,  and  made  man  capable  of  attaining 
goodness  and  harmony  in  all  his  relations.  The  evil 
in  the  world  was  contrary  to  God's  plan.  It  was  in- 
troduced by  the  perversity  of  society.  The  source  of 
misery  is  the  lack  of  knowledge.  If  humankind  knew 
the  right  way  of  living,  knew  the  original  plan  of  the 
Creator,  then  there  would  be  no  misery.  You  must 
find  this  knowledge,  this  science,  and  upon  it  build 
society.  Hence  they  are  all  seeking  a  "  scientific  state 
of  society,"  and  call  their  system  "  scientific."  From 
Rousseau  to  Hegel,  the  theory  prevailed  that  evil  is 
collective,  good  is  individual;  society  is  bad,  man  is 
pure. 

Cabet  expresses  it  clearly.  "  God  is  perfection,  in- 
finite, all-powerful,  is  justice  and  goodness.  God  is 
our  father,  and  it  follows  that  all  men  are  brethren 
and  all  are  equal,  as  in  one  all-embracing  family." 
"  It  is  evident  that,  to  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  Chris- 
tianity was  communism.  Communism  is  nothing 
other  than  true  Christianity.  ..."  "  The  regnancy 
of  God,  through  Jesus,  is  the  regnancy  of  perfection, 
of  omniscience,  of  justice,  of  goodness,  of  paternal 

4  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  word  "  Socialism  "  first  be- 
came current  in  the  meetings  of  Owen's  "  Association  of  All 
Classes  of  All  Nations,"  organized  by  him  in  1835. 


24    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

love;  and,  it  follows,  of  fraternity,  equality,  and  lib- 
erty; of  the  unity  of  community  interests,  that  is  of 
communism  (of  the  general  common  welfare),  in  place 
of  the  individual."  5 

This  edenesque  logic  was  dear  to  Fourier,  who  left 
more  profound  traces  on  modern  thought  than  the 
fantastic  Saint-Simonians.6 

Fourier  began  with  God.  "  On  beholding  this 
mechanism  (the  world  and  human  society),  or  even  in 
making  an  estimate  of  its  properties,  it  will  be  com- 
prehended that  God  has  done  well  all  that  He  has 
done."  7  Man  has  only  to  find  "  God's  design  "  in 
order  to  find  the  true  basis  of  society;  and  man's  system 
of  industrially  parceling  out  the  good  things  of  life 
among  a  few  favored  ones,  is  the  "  antipodes  of  God's 
design."  The  finding  of  this  design  is  the  function  of 
"  exact  science  " ;  man,  who  has  stifled  the  voice  of 
nature,  must  now  "  vindicate  the  Creator."  8 

Saint-Simon's  whole  system  rests  on  this  principle : 
"  God  has  said  that  men  ought  to  act  toward  each 
other  as  brethren."  This  principle  will  regulate  soci- 
ety, for  "  in  accordance  with  this  principle,  which  God 
has  given  to  men  for  the  rule  of  their  conduct,  they 
ought  to  organize  society  in  the  manner  the  most 
advantageous  to  the  greatest  number." 

The  social  philosophers  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  did  not  believe  that  this  Tightness  should  be 
brought  about  by  violence.  "  What  I  should  desire," 

8  Le   Vrai  Christianisme,  Chap.  XVIII,  edition  of   1846. 

*  An  apt  selection  from  the  works  of  Fourier  has  been  made 
by  Prof.  Charles  Gide,  prefaced  by  an  illuminating  Introduc- 
tion on  the  life  and  work  of  Fourier.  An  English  translation 
by  Julia  Franklin  appeared  in  London,  1901. 

T  Le  Nouveau  Monde,  Vol.  I,  p.  26. 

8  Theme  de  I'Unite  Universelle,  Vol.  II,  p.  128. 

tNew  Christianity,  p.  2,  English  edition,  1834. 


25 

says  Godwin,  "  is  not  by  violence  to  change  its  institu- 
tions, but  by  discussion  to  change  its  ideas.  I  have  no 
concern,  if  I  would  study  merely  the  public  good, 
with  factions  or  intrigue;  but  simply  to  promul- 
gate the  truth,  and  to  wait  the  tranquil  progress 
of  conviction.  Let  us  anxiously  refrain  from  vio- 
lence." 10 

Owen,  who  lived  a  few  decades  later,  came  into 
contact  with  the  theories  of  the  succeeding  school  of 
thought.  His  utopianism  remained,  however,  upon 
the  older  basis.  He  taught  that  the  evils  of  society 
were  not  inherent  in  the  nature  of  mankind.  The 
natural  state  of  the  world  and  of  man  was  good.  But 
the  evils  "  are  all  the  necessary  consequences  of  igno- 
rance." Therefore,  by  education  and  environment  he 
could  "  accomplish  with  ease  and  certainty  the  Her- 
culean labor  of  forming  a  rational  character  in  man, 
and  that,  too,  chiefly  before  the  child  commences  the 
ordinary  course  of  education."  X1 

The  Utopians  are  hopefully  seeking  the  universal 
law  which  will  re-form  society.  This  was  a  natural 
view  of  things  fundamental,  to  be  taken  by  men  who 
had  witnessed  the  political  emancipation  of  the  Third 
Estate  and  had  seen  "  Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity  " 
carved  over  every  public  portal  in  France,  and  the  ab- 
stract principles  of  justice  debated  in  parliaments. 
A  feeling  of  naive  simplicity  runs  through  all  their 
writings.  Just  as  civil  liberty,  they  believed,  had  come 
by  the  application  of  an  abstract  principle  of  natural 
law,  so  social  and  economic  freedom  would  come  by 
the  application  of  one  universal  abstract  principle  of 
human  conduct.  From  this  simplicity  came  a  violent 

10  Political  Justice,  Vol.  II,  pp.  531,  537. 

n  Third  Essay  on  a  New  View  of  Society,  pp.  65,  82. 


26   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

reaction,  which  reached  its  climax  in  the  anarchy  of 
Proudhon. 


II 

The  Utopian  period  of  Socialism  may  be  said  to 
end,  and  the  revolutionary  era  to  begin,  with  the  year 
1830.  The  French  Revolution  was  a  bourgeois  up- 
rising. But  behind  it  was  the  grim  and  resolute  back- 
ground of  the  proletarian  mass.  When  the  Third  Es- 
tate achieved  its  victory,  it  proceeded  to  monopolize  the 
governmental  powers  to  the  exclusion  of  its  lowly 
allies.  From  1830  to  1850  the  ferment  of  democratic 
discontent  spread  over  Europe  and  forced  the  demands 
of  the  workingman  into  the  foreground.  The  first 
outbreak  occurred  in  France,  in  1831,  when  the  work- 
ingmen  of  Lyons,  during  a  period  of  distressing  finan- 
cial depression,  marched  under  the  banner,  "  Live 
working,  or  die  fighting,"  demanding  bread  for  their 
families  and  work  for  themselves.  This  second  chap- 
ter of  the  development  of  Socialism  begins  with  a  red 
letter. 

Louis  Blanc  (1813-82),  the  first  philosopher  of 
the  new  movement,  struck  out  boldly  for  a  democratic 
organization  of  the  government.  This  differentiates 
him  from  Fourier  and  Saint-Simon,  and  links  him  with 
the  leading  Socialist  writers  of  our  day.  He  pub- 
lished his  Organisation  du  Travail  (Organization  of 
Labor)  in  1839.  It  immediately  gave  him  an  im- 
mense popularity  with  the  working  classes.  It  is  a 
brilliant  book,  as  fascinating  in  its  phrases  as  it  is 
forceful  in  its  denunciation  of  existing  society. 

He  said  that  it  is  vain  to  talk  of  improving  mankind 
morally  without  improving  them  materially.  This  im- 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      27 

provement  would  not  come  from  above,  from  the 
higher  classes.  It  would  come  from  below,  from  the 
working  people  themselves.  Therefore,  a  prerequisite 
of  social  reform  was  democracy.  The  proletarian 
must  possess  the  power  of  the  state  in  order  to  eman- 
cipate himself  from  the  economic  bondage  that  holds 
him  in  its  grasp. 

This  democratic  state  should  then  establish  national 
workshops,  or  associations,  which  he  called  "  social 
workshops,"  the  capital  to  be  provided  by  the  state 
and  the  state  to  supervise  their  operation.  He  be- 
lieved that,  once  established,  they  would  soon  become 
self-supporting  and  self-governing.  The  men  would 
choose  their  own  managers,  dispose  of  their  own 
profits,  and  take  care  that  this  beneficent  system  would 
spread  to  all  communities. 

He  was  careful  to  explain  that  "  genius  should 
assert  its  legitimate  empire  " — there  must  be  a  hier- 
archy of  ability. 

Louis  Blanc  believed  in  revolution  as  the  method  of 
social  advancement.  He  was  himself  a  leader  in  the 
abortive  revolution  of  1848,  the  revolt  of  the  people 
against  a  weak  and  careless  monarch.  As  a  member 
of  the  provisional  government,  he  may  be  called  the 
first  Socialist  to  hold  cabinet  honors.  And,  like  his 
successors  in  modern  cabinets,  he  accomplished  very 
little  towards  the  bringing  in  of  a  new  social  order. 
It  is  true  that  national  workshops  were  built  by  the 
French  government  at  his  suggestion;  but  not  accord- 
ing to  his  plans.  His  enemies  saw  to  it  that  they 
served  to  bring  discredit  rather  than  honor  to  the  sys- 
tem which  he  had  so  carefully  elaborated.12 

Louis  Blanc  did  not  entirely  free  himself  of  the 

12  See  EMILE  THOMAS,  History  of  the  National   Workshops. 


28   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

earlier  Utopian  conception  that  man  was  created  good 
and  innocent.  He  blames  society  for  allowing  the 
individual  to  do  evil.  But  he  does  take  a  step  toward 
the  Marxian  materialistic  conception  when  he  affirms 
that  man  was  created  with  certain  endowments  of 
strength  and  intellect  and  that  these  endowments 
should  be  spent  in  the  welfare  of  society.  The  empire 
of  service,  not  the  "  empire  of  tribute,"  should  be  the 
measure  of  man's  greatness. 

The  doctrine  of  revolt  was  carried  to  its  logical 
extreme  by  Proudhon  (1809-65).  He  was  the  son 
of  a  cooper  and  a  peasant  maid,  and  he  never  forgot 
that  he  sprang  from  the  proletariat.  He  was  a  pre- 
cocious lad,  was  a  theologian,  philologist,  and  linguist 
before  he  undertook  the  study  of  political  economy. 
In  1840  he  brought  out  his  notable  work,  Qu'est-ce  que 
la  Propriete?  (What  Is  Property?),  a  novel  ques- 
tion for  that  day,  to  which  he  gave  an  amazing  an- 
swer, "  Property  is  theft,"  ergo  "  property  holders  are 
thieves." 

Proudhon  was  a  man  with  the  brain  of  a  savant  and 
the  adjectives  of  a  peasant.  His  startling  phrases, 
however,  are  merely  spotlights  thrown  on  a  theory  of 
society  which  he  permeated  with  a  genuine  good  will. 
He  was  puritanic  in  moral  principle,  loyal  to  his 
friends,  and  a  despiser  of  cant  and  formalism.  But 
his  love  for  paradoxes  carried  him  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  logic. 

Property  is  theft,  he  says,  because  it  reaps  without 
sowing  and  consumes  without  producing.  What  right 
has  a  capitalist  to  charge  me  eight  per  cent.?  None. 
This  eight  per  cent,  does  not  represent  anything  of  time 
or  labor  value  put  into  the  article  I  am  buying.  It 
is  therefore  robbery.  Private  property,  the  strong- 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      29 

hold  of  the  individualist,  is  then  to  be  abolished  and 
a  universal  communism  established?  By  no  means. 
Communism  is  as  unnatural  as  property.  Proudhon 
had  only  contempt  for  the  phalanstery  and  national 
workshop  of  his  predecessors.  They  were  impossible, 
artificial,  reduced  life  to  a  monotonous  dead  level, 
and  encouraged  immorality.  Property  is  wrong  be- 
cause it  is  the  exploitation  of  the  weak  by  the  strong; 
communism  is  equally  wrong  because  it  is  the  exploita- 
tion of  the  strong  by  the  weak.  To  this  ingenious 
juggler  of  paradoxes  this  was  by  no  means  a  dilemma. 
He  resorted  to  a  formula  that  was  later  amplified  into 
the  most  potent  argument  of  Socialism  by  Marx. 
Service  pays  service,  one  day's  work  balances  another 
day's  work,  time-labor  is  the  just  measure  of  value. 
Hour  for  hour,  day  for  day,  this  should  be  the  uni- 
versal medium  of  exchange. 

Proudhon  was  really  directing  his  attacks  against 
rent  and  profit  rather  than  against  property.  He  pro- 
posed, as  a  measure  of  reform,  a  national  bank  where 
every  one  could  bring  the  product  of  his  toil  and  re- 
ceive a  paper  in  exchange  denoting  the  time  value  of 
his  article.  These  slips  of  paper  were  to  be  the  me- 
dium of  exchange  capable  of  purchasing  equal  time 
values.  This  glorified  savage  barter  he  even  proposed 
to  the  Constituent  Assembly,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, and  when  it  was  rejected — only  two  votes  were 
recorded  for  it — he  tried  to  establish  it  upon  private 
foundations.  He  failed  to  raise  the  necessary  capital 
and  his  plan  failed. 

Proudhon  is  the  father  of  modern  Anarchy.  His 
exaltation  of  individualism  led  him  to  the  suppression 
of  government.  Government,  he  taught,  is  merely 
the  dominance  of  one  man  over  another,  a  form  of 


30   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

intolerable  oppression.  "  The  highest  perfection  of 
society  is  found  in  the  union  of  order  and  anarchy." 

For  his  bitter  tirades  against  property  he  received 
the  scorn  of  the  bourgeois,  for  his  attacks  upon  the 
government  he  served  three  years  in  prison,  and  some 
years  later  he  escaped  a  second  term  for  a  similar 
cause  by  fleeing  to  Brussels. 

The  ultimate  outcome  of  his  individualism  was 
equality,  which  he  achieved  in  economics  by  his  theory 
of  time-labor  and  in  politics  by  his  theory  of  anarchy. 

One  cannot  escape  the  conviction  that  the  outcome 
of  all  his  brilliant  rhetorical  legerdemain  is  man 
in  a  cage.  Not  man  originally  pure  and  good  as  the 
Utopians  would  have  him,  but  man  wilful,  egoistic, 
capable  of  enslaving  his  fellows,  a  very  different  be- 
ing from  the  man  of  mercy  and  love  crushed  by  the 
collective  injustice  of  society.  Proudhon  frees  this 
man  from  his  oppressor  and  his  oppressiveness  by 
creating  a  condition  of  equality  through  the  destruc- 
tion of  property  and  of  government.  But  in  destroy- 
ing property  he  retains  possessions,  and  in  establishing 
anarchy  he  maintains  order.  "  Free  association,  lib- 
erty— whose  sole  function  is  to  maintain  equality — 
in  the  means  of  production,  and  equivalence  in  ex- 
changes, is  the  only  possible,  the  only  just,  the  only 
true  form  of  society." 

"  The  government  of  man  by  man  (under  whatever 
name  it  be  disguised)  is  oppression.  Society  finds  its 
highest  perfection  in  the  union  of  order  and  an- 
archy." 13 

Proudhon  has  had  a  large  influence  on  modern 
Socialism.  His  trenchant  invectives  against  property 
and  society  are  widely  copied.  From  his  utterances 

"What  Is  Property?     Collected  Works,  Vol.  I,  p.  286. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      31 

on  government  the  Syndicalists  of  France,  Italy, 
and  Spain  have  drawn  their  doctrine.  The  general 
strike  is  the  child  of  his  paradoxes.  He  wrote  as 
the  motto  for  his  most  influential  book,  What  Is 
Property?,  "  Destruam  et  aedificabo  "  (I  will  destroy 
and  I  will  build  again).  But,  while  he  pointed  the 
way  to  destruction,  he  failed  to  reveal  a  new  and 
better  order. 

The  way  to  modern  Socialism  was  paved  in  Ger- 
many. The  teaching  of  Hegel  cleared  the  way  for  the 
political  unrest  that  spread  over  Europe  in  the  '4o's. 
Hegel  was  the  proclaimer  of  the  social  revolution. 
He  gave  sanction  to  the  tenets  of  destruction.  Every- 
thing that  exists  is  worth  destroying,  may  be  taken  as 
the  primary  postulate  at  which  the  Young  Hegelians 
arrived.  Truth  does  not  exist  merely  in  a  collection 
of  institutions  or  dogmatic  axioms  that  could  be  mem- 
orized like  the  alphabet;  truth  is  in  the  process  of 
being,  of  knowing,  it  has  developed  through  the  toil- 
some evolution  of  the  race,  it  is  found  only  in  ex- 
perience. Nothing  is  sacred  merely  because  it  exists. 
Existing  institutions  are  only  the  prelude  to  other 
and  better  institutions  that  are  to  follow.  This  was 
roughly  the  formula  that  the  radical  Hegelians  blocked 
out  for  themselves  when  they  split  from  the  orthodox 
conservatives  in  the  '3o's. 

In  1843  appeared  Feuerbach's  Wesen  des  Chris- 
tentums  (Essence  of  Christianity),  putting  the  seal 
of  materialism  upon  the  precepts  of  the  Young  Hege- 
lians.14 The  God  of  the  Utopians  was  destroyed. 

"  In  1845  Marx  made  this  note  on  the  work  of  Feuerbach : 
"  The  point  of  view  of  the  old  materialism  is  bourgeois  so- 
ciety ;  the  point  of  view  of  the  new  materialism  is  human 
society  or  the  unclassed  humanity  (vergesellschaftete  Mensch- 
heit). 

"Philosophers   have   only   differently   interpreted   the   world, 


32   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Things  were  not  created  in  harmony  and  beauty  and 
disordered  by  man.  Things  as  they  are,  are  the  result 
of  evolution,  of  growth;  nothing  was  created  as  it  is, 
and  even  "  Religion  is  the  dream  of  the  human 
mind."  15 

Out  of  this  atmosphere  of  .philosophical,  religious, 
and  political  rebellion  sprang  the  prophet  of  modern 
Socialism,  Karl  Marx,16  a  man  whose  intellectual  en- 
dowments place  him  in  the  first  ranks  among  Social- 
ists and  link  his  name  with  other  bold  intellects  of  his 
age  who  have  forced  the  current  of  human  thought. 
There  have  been  many  books  written  on  Marx,  and 
every  phase  of  his  theories  has  been  subjected  to  aca- 
demic and  popular  scrutiny.  His  treatise,  Capital,  is 
the  sacerdotal  book  of  Socialists.  It  displays  a  mass  of 
learning,  a  diligence  of  research,  and  acumen  in  the 
marshaling  of  ideas,  and  a  completeness  of  literary 
expression  that  insures  it  a  lasting  place  in  the  litera- 
ture of  social  philosophy.  Whatever  may  be  said  of 
the  narrow  dogmatism  of  Marx,  of  his  persistence  in 
making  the  facts  fit  his  preconceived  notions,  of  his 
materialistic  conception  of  history,  or  of  the  technical 
flaws  in  his  political  economy,  he  will  always  be  quoted 
as  the  founder  of  modern  scientific  Socialism  and  the 
Socialist  historian  of  the  capitalistic  regime. 

I  must  content  myself  with  a  bare  statement  of  his 
theories. 

but  the  point  is  to  alter  the  world."  See  FREDERICK  ENGELS, 
Ludwig  Feuerbach  und  der  Ausgang  der  Klassischen  Deutscher 
Philosophie,  Stuttgart,  1903. 

"  Essence  of  Christianity,  Preface,  p.  xiii. 

18  For  a  concise  statement  of  the  development  of  Marxian 
Socialism  out  of  the  German  philosophy  of  that  period,  see 
FREDERICK  ENGELS,  Die  Entwickelung  des  Sosialismus  von  der 
Utopie  zur  Wissenschaft,  Berlin,  1891.  It  is  the  third  chapter 
out  of  his  DUrung,  Umwalzung. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM       33 

The  economic  basis  of  Marx  is  his  well-known 
"  Theory  of  Surplus  Value."  It  was  not  his  theory  in 
the  sense  that  he  originated  it.  Economists  like  Adam 
Smith  and  especially  Ricardo,  Socialists  like  the  Owen- 
ites  and  the  Chartists  in  England,  and  Proudhon  in 
France,  had  enunciated  it;  and  in  Germany  Rodbertus, 
a  lawyer  and  scholar  of  great  learning,  had  elaborated 
it  in  his  first  book,  published  in  1842.  Marx,  with 
German  thoroughness,  developed  this  theory  in  all  its 
ramifications. 

All  economic  goods,  he  said,  have  value.  They 
have  a  physical  value,  and  a  value  given  them  by  the 
labor  expended  on  them.  Labor  is  the  common  factor 
of  economic  values.  And  the  common  denominator 
is  the  time  that  is  consumed  by  the  labor.  Labor-time, 
therefore,  is  the  universal  measure  of  value,  the  com- 
mon medium  that  determines  values.  But  this  labor 
is  acquired  in  the  open  labor  market  by  the  capitalist 
at  the  lowest  possible  price,  a  price  whose  utmost  limit 
is  the  bare  cost  of  living.  The  reward  for  his  labor 
is  called  a  wage.  This  wage  does  not  by  any  means 
measure  the  value  of  his  services.  What,  then,  be- 
comes of  the  "  surplus  value,"  the  value  over  and 
above  wages?  The  capitalist  appropriates  it.  In- 
deed, the  great  aim  of  the  capitalist  is  to  make  this 
surplus  value  as  big  as  possible.  He  measures  his 
success  by  his  profits. 

"  Surplus  value,"  or  profit,  is,  then,  a  species  of 
robbery;  it  is  ill-gotten  gain,  withholding  from  the 
workman  that  which  by  right  of  toil  is  his. 

How  did  it  come  about  that  society  was  so  organ- 
ized as  to  permit  this  wholesale  wrong  upon  the  largest 
and  most  defenseless  of  its  classes?  It  is  in  answer 
to  this  question  that  Marx  makes  his  most  notable 


34   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

contribution  to  Socialistic  theory.  With  great  skill, 
and  displaying  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  economic 
history,  especially  of  English  industrial  history,  he 
traces  the  development  of  modern  industrial  society. 
He  follows  the  evolution  of  capital  from  the  days  of 
medieval  paternalism  through  the  period  of  commer- 
cial expansion  when  the  voyages  of  discovery  opened 
virgin  fields  of  wealth  to  the  trader,  into  the  period 
of  inventions  when  the  industrial  revolution  changed 
the  conditions  of  all  classes  and  gave  a  sudden  and 
princely  power  to  capital,  establishing  the  reign  of 
"  capitalistic  production." 

Always  it  was  the  man  with  capital  who  could  take 
advantage  of  every  new  commercial  and  industrial 
opportunity,  and  the  man  without  capital  who  was 
forced  to  succumb  to  the  stress  of  new  and  cruel  cir- 
cumstances. In  every  stage  of  development  it  has  been 
the  constant  aim  of  the  capitalist  to  increase  his  profits 
and  of  the  workingman  to  raise  his  standard  of 
living. 

Marx  then  declares  that,  in  order  to  have  a  capitalist 
society,  two  classes  are  necessary:  a  capitalist  and  a 
non-capitalist  class;  a  class  that  dominates,  and  one 
that  succumbs.  There  have  always  been  these  two 
classes.  Originally  labor  was  slave,  then  it  was  serf, 
and  now  it  is  free.  But  free  labor  to-day  differs 
from  serf-labor  and  slave-labor  only  in  that  it  has  a 
legal  right  to  contract.  The  economic  results  are  the 
same  as  they  always  have  been :  the  capitalist  still 
appropriates  the  surplus  value. 

The  method  of  production,  however,  is  very  differ- 
ent in  our  capitalistic  era  from  the  earlier  eras.  The 
industrial  system  herds  the  workmen  into  factories. 
Property  and  labor  is  no  longer  individualistic;  it  is 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      35 

social,  it  is  corporate.  Marx  calls  it  "  social  produc- 
tion and  capitalistic  appropriation."  Here  is  the  eter- 
nal antagonism  between  the  classes,  the  large  class 
of  laborers  and  the  small  class  of  the  "  appropriators  " 
of  their  common  toil. 

These  factories,  where  labor  is  herded,  spring  up 
willy-nilly  wherever  there  is  a  capitalist  who  desires 
to  enter  business.  They  flood  the  markets,  not  by 
mutual  consent  or  regulation,  but  by  individual  ambi- 
tions. Each  capitalist  is  ruled  by  self-interest;  and 
self-interest  impels  him  to  make  as  many  goods  as 
he  can  and  sell  them  at  as  big  a  profit  as  he  can. 
Result,  economic  anarchy,  called  "  over-production  " 
or  "  under-consumption "  by  the  economists.  This 
leads  to  panics  and  all  their  attendant  woes — woes 
that  are  further  heaped  upon  the  proletarian  by  the 
fact  that  he  must  compete  with  machinery,  which,  be- 
ing more  and  more  perfected,  forces  him  out  of  the 
labor  market  into  the  street. 

These  crises  have  the  tendency  to  concentrate  in- 
dustry in  fewer  and  fewer  hands ;  the  weaker  capital- 
ist must  succumb  to  the  inevitable  laws  of  struggle 
and  survival.  The  survivors  fatten  on  the  corpses 
of  their  fallen  competitors.  Thus  the  factories  grow 
larger  and  larger,  the  number  of  capitalists  fewer  and 
fewer;  the  number  of  proletarian  dependents  multi- 
plies; the  middle  class  is  crushed  out  of  existence;  the 
rich  become  richer  and  fewer,  the  poor  more  numer- 
ous and  poorer. 

In  this  turmoil  of  social  production,  capitalistic  ap- 
propriation, and  anarchic  distribution,  there  is  dis- 
cernible a  reshaping  of  social  potencies.  The  pro- 
letarian realizes  the  power  of  the  state  and  sees  how 
he  may  possess  himself  of  that  power  and  thereby 


36   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

gain  control  of  the  economic  forces  and  reshape  them 
to  fit  the  needs  of  a  better  society.  This  will  mean 
the  appropriation  of  the  means  of  production  and 
distribution  by  society.  Private  capital  will  vanish; 
surplus  values  will  belong  to  the  people  who  created 
them ;  the  people  will  be  master  and  servant,  capitalist 
and  laborer. 

This  is  the  Socialistic  stage  of  society.  It  will  be 
the  result  of  the  natural  evolution  of  human  industry. 
Its  immediate  coming  will  be  the  result  of  a  social 
revolution.  This  revolution,  this  social  cataclysm,  is 
written  in  the  nature  of  things.  Man  cannot  prompt 
it,  he  cannot  prevent  it.  He  can  only  study  the  trend 
of  things  and  "  alleviate  the  birth-pangs  "  of  the  new 
time. 

Of  this  new  time,  this  society  of  to-morrow,  Marx 
gives  us  no  glimpse.  His  function  is  not  to  prophesy, 
but  to  analyze.  He  is  the  natural  historian  of  cap- 
ital. He  described  the  development  of  economic  so- 
ciety and  sought  to  ascertain  its  trend.  In  the  first 
chapter  of  Capital  he  says :  "  Let  us  imagine  an  asso- 
ciation of  free  men,  working  with  common  means  of 
production,  and  putting  forth,  consciously,  their  in- 
dividual powers  into  one  social  labor  power.  The 
product  of  this  association  of  laborers  is  a  social 
product.  A  portion  of  this  product  serves  in  turn  as 
a  means  of  further  production.  It  remains  social 
property.  The  rest  of  this  product  is  consumed  by 
the  members  of  the  association  as  a  means  of  living. 
It  must  consequently  be  distributed  among  them.  The 
nature  of  this  distribution  will  vary  according  to  the 
particular  nature  of  the  organization  of  production 
and  the  corresponding  grade  of  historical  development 
of  the  producers." 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM      37 

This  is  the  only  mention  of  the  future  made  by 
Marx.  It  is  a  dim  and  uncertain  ray  of  light  cast 
upon  a  vast  object. 

The  formulae  of  this  epoch-making  study  may  be 
summarized  as  follows : 

1.  Labor  gives  value  to  all  economic  goods.     The 
laboring  class  is  the  producing  class,  but  it  is  deprived 
of  its  just  share  of  the  products  of  its  labor  by  the 
capitalistic   class,    which    appropriates    the    "  surplus 
value." 

2.  This  is  possible  because  of  the  capitalistic  method 
of  production,   wherein  private   capital  controls  the 
processes  of  production  and  distribution. 

3.  This  system  of  private  capitalism  is  the  result  of 
a  long  and  laborious  process  of  evolution,  hastened 
precipitately  by  the  industrial  revolution. 

4.  This  industrial  age  is  characterized  (a)  by  an- 
archy  in   distribution,    (b)    private   production,    (c) 
the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  middle  class,  (d)  the 
development   of   a  two-class   system — capitalist   and 
producer,   (e)  the  rich  growing  richer  and  the  poor 
growing  poorer. 

5.  This  will  not  always  continue.     The  producers 
are  becoming  fewer  each  year.     Presently  they  will 
become   so   powerful    as   to   be   unendurable.     Then 
society — the  people — will  appropriate  private  capital 
and   all  production   and   distribution   will  be  social- 
ized. 

It  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  the  leading  events 
in  the  life  of  this  remarkable  man  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  genesis  of  his  theories.  Marx  was  born  in 
Treves  in  1818,  of  Jewish  parentage.  His  mother 
was  of  Dutch  descent,  his  father  was  German.  When 
the  lad  was  six  years  of  age  his  parents  embraced  the 


38   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Christian  faith.  His  father  was  a  lawyer,  but  his 
ancestors  for  over  two  hundred  years  had  been  rabbis. 
The  home  was  one  of  culture,  where  English  and 
French  as  well  as  German  literature  and  art  were 
discussed  by  a  circle  of  learned  and  congenial  friends. 
Marx  studied  at  the  universities  of  Bonn  and  Berlin. 
He  took  his  doctorate  in  the  law  to  please  his  father, 
but  followed  philosophy  by  natural  bent,  intending  to 
become  a  university  professor. 

The  turmoil  of  revolution  was  in  the  air  and  in 
his  blood.  There  was  no  curbing  of  his  fiery  tem- 
perament into  the  routine  of  scholastic  life.  In  1842 
he  joined  the  staff  of  the  Rhenish  Gazette  at  Cologne, 
an  organ  of  extreme  radicalism.  His  drastic  edi- 
torials prompted  the  police  to  ask  him  to  leave  the 
country,  and  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  met  Frederick 
Engels,  who  became  his  firm  friend,  partner  of  his 
views,  and  sharer  of  his  labors.  The  Prussian  gov- 
ernment demanded  his  removal  from  Paris,  and  for  a 
time  he  settled  in  Brussels.  He  returned  to  Germany 
to  participate  in  the  revolution  of  1848,  and  in  1849 
he  was  driven  to  London,  where,  immune  from  Prus- 
sian persecutions,  he  made  his  home  until  his  death, 
in  1883. 

In  1842  he  married  Jennie  von  Westphalen,  a  lady 
of  refinement,  courage,  and  loyalty,  whose  family  was 
prominent  in  Prussian  politics.  Her  brother  was  at 
one  time  a  minister  in  the  Prussian  cabinet. 

Marx  was  an  exile  practically  all  his  life,  though 
he  never  gave  up  his  German  citizenship.  He  never 
forgot  this  fact.  He  concluded  his  preface  to  the 
first  volume  of  Capital,  written  in  1873,  with  a  bitter 
allusion  to  the  "  mushroom  upstarts  of  the  new, 
holy  Prussian  German  Empire."  He  lived  a  life  of 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  SOCIALISM       39 

heroic  fortitude  and  struggle  against  want  and 
disease. 

From  his  infancy  he  had  been  taught  to  take  a  world 
view,  an  international  view,  of  human  affairs.  This 
gave  him  an  immediate  advantage  over  all  other 
Socialist  writers  of  that  day.  At  Bonn  he  was  caught 
in  the  current  of  heterodoxy  that  was  then  sweeping 
through  the  universities.  This  carried  him  far  into 
the  fields  of  materialism,  whose  philosophy  of  history 
he  adopted  and  applied  to  the  economic  development 
of  the  race.  He  received  not  alone  his  philosophy 
from  the  "  Young  Hegelians,"  but  his  dialectics  as 
well.  It  gave  him  a  philosophy  of  evil  which,  blend- 
ing with  his  bitter  personal  experiences,  gave  a  melan- 
choly bent  to  his  reasoning,  and  revealed  to  him  the 
misericordia  of  class  war,  the  struggle  of  abject  pov- 
erty contending  with  callous  capital  in  a  bloody  social 
revolution. 

There  are  four  points  which  gave  Marx  an  immense 
influence  over  the  Socialistic  movement.  In  the  first 
place,  he  put  the  Socialistic  movement  on  a  historical 
basis ;  he  made  it  inevitable.  Think  what  this  means, 
what  hope  and  spirit  it  inspires  in  the  bosom  of  the 
workingman.  But  he  did  more  than  this:  he  made 
the  proletarian  the  instrument  of  destiny  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  race  from  economic  thraldom. 
This  was  to  be  accomplished  by  class  war  and  social 
revolution.  Marx  imparts  the  zeal  of  fatalism  to  his 
Socialism  when  he  links  it  to  the  necessities  of  nature. 
By  natural  law  a  bourgeoisie  developed;  by  natural 
law  it  oppresses  the  proletarian;  by  natural  law,  by 
the  compulsion  of  inexorable  processes,  the  prole- 
tarians alone  can  attain  their  freedom.  Capitalism 
becomes  its  own  grave-digger.  Liebknecht  said  in  his 


40    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Erfurt  speech  (1891)  :  "The  capitalistic  state  of  the 
present  begets  against  its  will  the  state  of  the 
future." 

In  the  third  place,  Marx  gave  a  formula  to  the 
Socialist  movement.  He  defined  Socialism  in  one  sen- 
tence: "The  social  ownership  of  the  means  of  pro- 
duction and  distribution."  This  was  necessary. 
From  among  the  vague  and  incoherent  mass  of  Uto- 
pian and  revolutionary  literature  he  coined  the  sen- 
tence that  could  be  repeated  with  gusto  and  the  flavor 
of  scientific  terminology. 

And  finally,  he  refrained  from  detailing  the  new 
society.  He  laid  down  no  program  except  war,  he 
pointed  to  no  Utopia  except  co-operation.  This 
offended  no  one  and  left  Socialists  of  all  schools  free 
to  construct  their  own  details. 

The  Marxian  system  was  no  sooner  enunciated  than 
it  was  shown  to  be  fallible  as  an  economic  generaliza- 
tion; and  the  passing  of  several  decades  has  proved 
that  the  tendencies  he  deemed  inevitable  are  not  taking 
place.  The  refutation  of  his  theory  of  value  by  the 
Austrian  economist,  Adolph  Menger,  is  by  economists 
considered  complete  and  final.  The  materialistic  con- 
ception of  history,  which  is  the  soul  of  his  work,  lends 
itself  more  to  the  passion  of  a  virile  propaganda  than 
to  a  sober  interpretation  of  the  facts.  Further,  the 
two  practical  results  that  flow  from  the  use  of  his 
theory  of  surplus  value  and  his  materialism — namely, 
the  ever-increasing  volume  of  poverty  and  the  ever- 
decreasing  number  of  capitalists — are  not  borne  out  by 
the  facts.  The  number  of  capitalists  is  constantly 
increasing,  in  spite  of  the  development  of  enormous 
trusts;  the  middle  class  is  constantly  being  recruited 
from  the  lower  class;  there  is  no  apparent  realization 


41 

of  the  two-class  system.  And  finally,  the  method  by 
revolution  is  being  more  and  more  discarded  by  So- 
cialists, as  they  see  that  intolerable  conditions  are  being 
more  and  more  alleviated,  that  "  man's  inhumanity 
to  man "  is  a  constantly  diminishing  factor  in  the 
bitter  struggle  for  existence.17 

17  For  a  criticism   of   the  teachings   of   Marx,   see   SOMBART, 
Socialism  and  the  Social  Movement,  Chap.  IV. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIAL- 
ISM—THE PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION 

FROM  the  point  of  view  of  our  inquiry  the  most 
significant  event  in  the  history  of  Socialism  is  its  en- 
trance into  politics.  This  endows  the  workingman 
with  a  new  power  and  a  great  power;  a  power  that 
will  bring  him  farther  on  his  way  toward  the  goal 
he  seeks  than  any  other  he  possesses.  Because  the 
modern  state  is  democratic,  and  the  democratic  state 
bends  in  the  direction  of  the  mass.  The  revolutions 
attempted  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  are  child's 
play  compared  with  the  changes  that  can  be  wrought 
when  constitutions  and  courts,  parliaments  and  ad- 
ministrative systems,  become  the  instruments  of  a  de- 
termined, self-possessed,  and  united  political  conscious- 
ness. 

Scarcely  half  a  century  elapsed  between  the  French 
Utopians  and  the  time  when  the  proletarians  organized 
actual  political  parties,  and  arrayed  themselves  against 
the  older  orders  in  the  struggle  for  political  privilege. 
In  the  interval,  revolution  had  its  brief  hour,  and  re- 
action its  days  of  waiting. 

The  French  Revolution  was  a  necessary  preliminary 
to  the  proletarian  movement.  It  was  the  most  power- 
ful instrument  for  the  propagation  of  those  democratic 
ideas  that  were  so  attractively  clothed  by  Rousseau  and 
so  terribly  distorted  by  the  revolutionists.  While  this 
revolution  was  a  bourgeois  movement,  not  a  prole- 

42. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  43 

tarian  uprising,  not  a  revolution  in  the  sense  that 
Marx,  for  instance,  uses  the  word,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  proletarians  were  in  the  revolution. 
The  dark  and  sullen  background  of  that  tragedy  was 
the  mass  of  unspeakably  poor.  They  were  not 
machine  workers  whose  abjectness  came  from  fac- 
tory conditions,  like  the  workmen  of  England  a  few 
decades  later.  They  were  proletarians  without  a  class 
consciousness,  but  with  a  class  grievance;  proletarians 
in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  poor,  ragged,  hungry, 
wretched. 

Such  democracy  as  was  achieved  by  the  revolution 
was  bourgeois.  The  powers  of  monarchy  were  trans- 
ferred from  the  "  privileged  "  classes  to  the  middle 
class,  who,  in  turn,  became  the  privileged  ones.  The 
day  of  middle-class  government  had  come.  The  class 
that  had  financed  the  fleets  of  adventurers  to  new  and 
unexploited  continents,  and  had  backed  the  inventions 
of  Arkwright  and  Hargreaves,  were  now  in  power  in 
politics  as  well  as  in  commerce  and  industry.  A  unity 
of  purpose  between  industry  and  statecraft  was  thus 
achieved;  new  ideals  became  dominant.  The  patri- 
archal precepts  of  the  feudal  manors  were  forgotten. 
The  people  were  no  longer  children  of  a  great  house- 
hold with  their  king  at  the  head.  The  king,  when 
he  was  retained,  was  shorn  of  his  universal  father- 
hood, and  remained  a  mere  remnant  of  ermine  and 
velvet,  a  royal  trader  in  social  distinctions. 

While  the  old  ideal,  the  feudal  ideal,  prevailed, 
governing  was  the  duty  of  a  class.  The  newer  ideal 
made  governing  an  incident  in  the  activities  of  a 
class  whose  dominating  impulse  was  the  making  of 
profits.  These  ideals  are  at  polar  points;  one  deals 
with  things,  the  other  with  men. 


The  change  in  the  form  of  government  was  wrought 
while  the  people  were  talking  about  the  glittering 
abstractions  of  equality,  liberty,  justice,  as  if  they  were 
commodities  to  be  exchanged  in  the  political  markets. 
The  newer  form  of  government  marked  an  advance 
on  the  older.  It  represented  a  step  forward  in  human 
political  experience.  A  larger  group  of  citizens  was 
drawn  into  the  widening  circle  of  governmental  activ- 
ities. It  was  an  inevitable  step.  The  discovery  of 
the  New  World  and  the  invention  of  machinery  were 
making  a  new  earth — an  unattractive  earth,  but  never- 
theless a  new  one.  The  balance  of  power  was  shift- 
ing from  hereditary  privilege  to  commercial  privilege, 
and  nations  were  fulfilling  the  law  of  human  nature, 
that  the  power  of  the  state  reposes  in  the  hands  of 
the  dominant  class.  The  dominant  class  is  actuated 
by  its  dominant  idea.  In  the  aristocratic  class  it  is 
politics,  in  the  middle  class  it  is  trade. 

All  this  inevitably  accentuated  the  proletarian's  posi- 
tion in  the  state.  Under  the  older  regime,  as  his- 
torians of  our  economic  development  have  clearly 
shown,  the  antagonisms  and  grievances  were  fewer. 
The  trader  and  the  craftsman  were  overshadowed 
by  the  lord  and  the  bishop.  Social,  political,  and 
economical  values  were  distributed  by  custom  and 
imposed  by  heredity,  rather  than  by  individual  effort 
or  individual  capacity.  When,  therefore,  this  great 
change  came  over  society,  a  change  that  would  have 
been  unthinkable  in  the  days  of  Charlemagne  or  of 
Elizabeth, — a  change  that  virtually  destroyed  the  most 
powerful  of  the  classes  and  put  human  beings  onto  a 
basis  of  competition  rather  than  of  birth,  and  shifted 
power  from  tradition  to  effort,  and  transferred  values 
from  prerogatives  to  gold, — then  the  whole  class  prob- 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  45 

lem  changed,  and  entirely  new  antagonisms  were  cre- 
ated. 

The  first  movements  of  the  new  proletarians  were 
mob  movements.  Actuated  more  by  a  desire  to  re- 
venge themselves  than  to  better  themselves,  they  gather 
in  the  dark  hours  of  the  night  and  move  sullenly 
upon  the  factories,  to  destroy  their  enemies,  the 
machines.  They  pillage  the  buildings  and  threaten 
the  house  of  their  employer,  whom  they  consider  the 
agent  of  their  undoing.  In  France  and  Germany,  and 
especially  in  England,  these  infuriated  workmen  try 
to  undo  by  violence  what  has  been  achieved  by  in- 
vention. 

When  their  first  fury  is  abated  and  they  see  new 
machinery  taking  the  place  of  that  which  they  have 
destroyed,  and  new  factories  built  on  the  foundations 
of  those  they  have  burned,  they  see  the  impotence  of 
their  actions.  In  England  a  new  movement  begins. 
They  try  to  re-enact  the  Elizabethan  statute  qf  labor- 
ers, to  bring  back  the  days  of  handicrafts,  of  journey- 
man and  apprentice.  They  soon  learned  that  the  old 
era  had  vanished,  never  to  return.  The  workingman 
possessed  neither  the  power  nor  the  ingenuity  to  bring 
it  back.  He  turned,  next,  to  possess  himself  of  the 
machinery  of  the  state. 

Political  conditions  paved  the  way.  France,  after 
her  orgy,  had  fallen  back  into  absolutism.  Germany 
and  Austria  had  remained  feudal  in  the  most  dis- 
tasteful sense  of  the  word;  the  nobility  retained  their 
ancient  privileges  and  forsook  their  ancient  duties. 
The  landlord  class  even  retained  jurisdiction  over  their 
tenants.  The  old  industry  had  been  destroyed  by 
Napoleon's  campaigns;  the  new  machine  industry  did 
not  establish  itself  until  after  the  enactment  of  pro- 


46   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tective  tariffs  and  the  creation  "  Zollverein,"  in  1818. 
This  cemented  the  bourgeois  interests.  Manufac- 
turers, traders,  and  bankers  achieved  a  homogeneity  of 
interest  and  ambition  which  was  antagonistic  to  the 
spirit  of  the  junker  and  the  feudalist.  The  new 
bourgeoisie  wanted  laws  favorable  to  trade  expansion. 
They  needed  the  law-making  machinery  to  achieve 
this.  By  1840  the  upper  middle  class  had  become 
feverish  for  political  power.  They  imbibed  the  doc- 
trines of  the  literature  of  that  period  which  preached 
a  constitutional  republicanism.  Hegel  gave  the 
weighty  sanction  of  philosophy  to  the  overthrow  of 
absolute  monarchy. 

The  great  mass  of  the  people  were,  of  course,  work- 
ingmen,  small  traders,  and  shopkeepers,  and  the  rural 
peasantry.  The  small  trader  was  dependent  upon  the 
favors  of  the  ruling  class  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the 
banker  and  manufacturer  on  the  other  hand.  When 
the  interests  of  these  two  clashed  he  was  alarmed, 
for  he  could  neither  remain  neutral  nor  take  sides. 
The  peasants  were  abject  subjects,  little  better  than 
serfs.  The  laboring  men,  as  we  shall  see  presently, 
were  achieving  a  mass  consciousness. 

In  Germany  Frederick  William,  the  Romantic,  was 
face  to  face  with  revolution.  This  was  not  an  eco- 
nomic revolution.  It  was  a  political  revolution.  It 
was  joined  by  the  communists  and  the  Socialists. 
Marx  himself  was  a  leader  in  the  revolt,  and  one  of 
its  most  faithful  chroniclers.  In  1844  the  weavers  of 
Silesia  rose  in  revolt.  There  was  rioting  and  blood- 
shed. This  was  followed  by  bread  riots  in  various 
parts  of  Germany.  In  1848  the  whole  country  was 
in  the  turmoil  of  revolution,  a  revolution  led  by  the 
upper  middle  class,  but  prompted  and  fired  by  the  zeal 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  47 

of  the  proletarians,  who,  in  some  of  the  cities,  notably 
Berlin,  became  the  leading  factor  in  the  uprising. 
Marx  says :  "  There  was  then  no  separate  Republican 
party  in  Germany.  People  were  either  constitutional 
monarchists  or  more  or  less  clearly  defined  Socialists 
or  communists."  1 

In  Austria  conditions  were  even  more  reactionary 
than  in  Germany.  Metternich,  the  powerful  repre- 
sentative of  the  ancient  order  of  things,  had  a  haughty 
contempt  for  the  demands  of  the  constitutional  party. 
With  the  hauteur  of  absolutism  he  not  only  retained 
political  power  in  the  feudal  class,  but  suppressed 
literature,  censored  learning,  and  rigorously  superin- 
tended religion.  A  greater  power  than  caste  and  tra- 
dition was  slowly  eating  its  way  into  this  country, 
which  had  attempted  to  isolate  itself  from  the  rest 
of  the  world.  This  was  the  power  of  machine  in- 
dustry. It  brought  with  it,  as  in  every  other  country, 
a  new  class,  the  manufacturers,  who,  as  soon  as  their 
business  began  to  expand,  sought  favorable  laws. 
This  led  them  into  political  activity,  which,  in  turn, 
brought  friction  with  the  feudalists.  Both  sides  took 
to  the  field.  The  revolution  broke  in  Vienna,  March 
13,  1848,  seventeen  days  after  the  revolutionists  had 
driven  Louis  Philippe  out  of  Paris,  and  five  days  be- 
fore the  Prussian  king  delivered  himself  into  the 
hands  of  a  Berlin  mob. 

It  was  in  France  that  the  revolution  assumed  its 
most  virulent  character.  In  Paris  the  revolution  was 
"  carried  on  between  the  mass  of  the  working  people 
on  the  one  hand  and  all  the  other  classes  of  the 
Parisian  population,  supported  by  the  army,  on  the 

1  MARX,  Revolution  and  Counter-Revolution  in  1848. 


48   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

other."  2  This  Parisian  proletarian  uprising  was  the 
red  signal  of  warning  to  Germany  and  Austria.  The 
bourgeois  were  now  as  anxious  to  rid  themselves  of 
the  Socialist  contingent  as  they  had  been  eager  for 
its  support  when  they  began  their  struggle  for  political 
power.  Compromises  between  feudalists  and  com- 
mercialists  were  effected,  and  a  sort  of  constitutional- 
ism became  the  basis  of  the  reconstructed  governments. 

Of  these  revolutions  Marx  says :  "  In  all  cases  the 
real  fighting  body  of  the  insurgents,  that  body  which 
first  took  up  arms  and  gave  battle  to  the  troops,  con- 
sisted of  the  working  classes  of  the  towns.  A  portion 
of  the  poorer  country  population,  laborers  and  petty 
farmers,  generally  joined  them  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  conflict."  3 

They  were  not  merely  bourgeois  uprisings.  The 
Parisian  revolution  was  virtually  a  proletarian  rebel- 
lion. Here  "  the  proletariat,  because  it  dictated  the 
Republic  to  the  provisional  government,  and  through 
the  provisional  government  to  the  whole  of  France, 
stepped  at  once  forth  as  an  independent,  self-contained 
party;  and  it  at  once  arrayed  the  entire  bourgeoisie  of 
France  against  itself.  .  .  .  Marche,  a  workingman, 
dictated  a  decree  wherein  the  newly  formed  provincial 
government  pledged  itself  to  secure  the  position  of 
the  workingman  through  work,  to  do  away  with  bour- 
geois labor,  etc.  And  as  they  seemed  to  forget  this 
promise,  a  few  days  later  200,000  workingmen 
marched  upon  the  Hotel  de  Ville  with  the  battle-cry, 
'  Organization  of  labor!  Create  a  ministry  of  labor! ' 
and  after  a  prolonged  debate  the  provisional  govern- 
ment named  a  permanent  special  commission  for  the 

a  MARX,  Revolution  and  Counter-Revolution,  p.  70. 
'Op.  cit.,  pp.  123-124. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  49 

purpose  of  finding  the  means  for  bettering  the  condi- 
tions of  the  working  classes."  * 

It  is  evident  that  Marx  considered  the  revolutions 
of  1848-50  as  a  compound  of  proletarian  and  bour- 
geois uprisings  against  feudal  remnants  in  govern- 
ment. He  is  not  always  clear  in  his  own  mind  as  to 
the  direction  of  these  movements.  But  we  now  know 
that  the  direction  was  toward  democracy. 

The  French,  or  Parisian,  uprising  was  more  "  ad- 
vanced "  than  the  other  Continental  attempts.  The 
Parisians  had  piled  barricades  before;  they  were  ex- 
perienced in  the  bloody  business. 

They  tried  again  in  1871.  This  time  the  working- 
men  ruled  Paris  for  two  months.  It  was  a  bloody, 
turbulent  period.  Marx  characterized  it  as  "  the 
glorious  workingman's  revolution  of  the  i8th  of 
March,"  and  the  Commune  "  as  a  lever  for  uprooting 
the  economical  foundations  upon  which  rests  the  ex- 
istence of  classes,  and  therefore  of  class  rule."  Its 
acts  of  violence  he  extolled,  its  burning  of  public 
buildings  was  a  "  self-holocaust."  This  "  working- 
man's  Paris,  with  its  Commune,  will  be  forever  cele- 
brated as  the  glorious  harbinger  of  a  new  society."  5 

4  MARX,   Die   Klassenkampfe   in  Frankreich,  pp.   26-28. 

5  See  the  third  address  issued  by  the  International  Working- 
men's  Association  on  the  Franco-Prussian   war,    1870-71. 

The  Italian  Socialists  in  Milan,  June,  1871,  closed  a  rhetorical 
address  to  the  Parisian  Communards  as  follows :  "  To  despotism 
they  responded,  We  are  free. 

"  To  the  cannon  and  chassepots  of  the  leagued  reactionists 
they  offered  their  bared  breasts. 

"  They  fell,  but  fell  like  heroes. 

To-day  the  reaction  calls  them  bandits,  places  them  under 
the  ban  of  the  human  race. 

"Shall  we  permit  it?    No! 

"  Workingmen !  At  the  time  when  our  brothers  in  Paris  are 
vanquished,  hunted  like  fallow  deer,  are  falling  by  hundreds 
under  the  blows  of  their  murderers,  let  us  say  to  them :  Come 


50   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

So  the  attempt  to  possess  the  state  by  revolution  has 
been  tried  by  the  proletarian.  The  revolutions  were 
all  abortive.  The  Socialists  say  they  were  ill-timed. 
Writing  in  1895,  Frederick  Engels,  the  companion  of 
Marx,  could  see  these  uprisings  in  a  different  per- 
spective. He  acknowledged  the  mistake  made  by  the 
Socialists  in  believing  that  they  could  by  violence  some- 
how become  the  deciding  factor  in  the  government, 
and  therefore  in  the  economic  arrangement  of  society. 
"  History  has  shown  us  our  error,"  he  says.  "  Time 
has  made  it  clear  that  the  status  of  economic  develop- 
ment on  the  Continent  was  far  from  ripe  for  the  setting 
aside  of  the  capitalistic  regime."  6 

These  revolutions  were  not  merely  bourgeois,  as 
is  so  often  affirmed.  There  was  everywhere  a  large 
element  of  Socialistic  unrest.  They  were  revolutions 
begun  in  the  fever  heat  of  youth — "  Young  Germany," 
"  Young  Austria,"  "  Young  Italy,"  were  moved  by 
"  Young  Hegelians "  and  "  Young  Communists." 
They  embraced  bourgeois  tradesmen  and  proletarian 
workingmen,  who,  in  their  new-found  delirium, 
thought  that  with  "  the  overthrow  of  the  reactionary 
governments,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  would  be  real- 
ized on  earth." 7  "  They  had  no  idea,"  continues 
Kautsky,  who  speaks  on  these  questions  with  author- 
ity, "  that  the  overthrow  of  these  governments  would 
not  be  the  end,  but  the  beginning  of  revolutions ;  that 


to  us,  we  are  here;  our  houses  are  open  to  you.  We  will  pro- 
tect you,  until  the  day  of  revenge,  a  day  not  far  distant. 

"  Workingmen !  the  principles  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  are 
ours :  we  accept  the  responsibility  of  its  acts.  Long  live  the 
Social  Republic ! " 

See  ED.  VILLETARD,  History  of  the  International,  p.  342.  This 
sentiment  was  also  expressed  in  London  and  other  centers. 

'Introduction  to  Die  Klassenk'dmpfe  in  Frankreich,  p.  8. 

'KAUTSKY,  Leben  Friedrich  Engels,  p.  14,  Berlin,  1895. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  51 

the  newly  won  bourgeois  freedom  would  be  the  battle- 
ground for  the  great  class  war  between  proletarian 
and  bourgeois;  that  liberty  did  not  bring  social  free- 
dom, but  social  warfare." 

This  is  to-day  the  orthodox  Socialist  view.  It  be- 
lieves that  these  revolutions  taught  the  proletarians  the 
folly  of  ill-timed  violence;  revealed  to  them  their 
friends  and  their  enemies ;  and,  above  all,  gave  them  a 
class  consciousness. 

Let  us  turn,  for  a  moment,  to  a  proletarian  move- 
ment of  a  somewhat  different  type,  the  Chartist  move- 
ment in  England.  The  flame  of  revolution  that  en- 
veloped Europe  crossed  the  Channel  to  England  and 
Ireland.  But  here  revolution  took  a  different  course. 
In  Ireland  it  was  the  brilliant  O'Connell's  agitation 
against  the  Act  of  Union;  in  England  it  was  the  work- 
ingman's  protest  against  his  exclusion  from  the  Reform 
Act  of  1832,  an  act  that  itself  had  been  born  amidst 
the  throes  of  mob  violence  and  incipient  revolution. 

The  Chartist  movement  was  promulgated  by  the 
"  Workingmen's  Association."  It  was  a  working- 
man's  protest.  Its  organizers  were  carpenters,  its 
orators  were  tailors  and  blacksmiths  and  weavers,  sur- 
prising themselves  and  their  audiences  with  their  new- 
found eloquence,  and  its  writers  were  cotton  spinners. 
The  Reform  Bill  had  been  a  bitter  disappointment  to 
them.  It  gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  middle 
class,  but  withheld  it  from  the  working  class.  A  few 
radical  members  of  Parliament  met  with  representa- 
tives of  the  workingmen  and  drafted  a  bill.  O'Con- 
nell,  as  he  handed  the  measure  to  the  secretary  of  the 
association,  said :  "  There  is  your  charter  " — and  the 
"  People's  Charter  "  it  was  called.  Its  "  six  points  " 
were :  Manhood  suffrage,  annual  Parliaments,  election 


52    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

by  ballot,  abolition  of  property  qualifications  for  elec- 
tion of  members  to  Parliament,  payment  of  members 
of  Parliament,  and  equitably  devised  electoral  dis- 
tricts. These  are  all  political  demands,  all  democratic. 
But  economic  conditions  pressed  them  to  the  fore- 
ground. The  "  Bread  Tax  "  was  as  much  an  issue 
as  the  ballot.  They  demanded  the  ballot  so  that  they 
might  remove  the  tax.  "  Misery  and  discontent  were 
its  strongest  inspirations,"  says  McCarthy.8 

Carlyle  saw  the  inwardness  of  the  movement.  "  All 
along  for  the  last  five  and  twenty  years  it  was  curious 
to  note  how  the  internal  discontent  of  England 
struggled  to  find  vent  for  itself  through  any  orifice; 
the  poor  patient,  all  sick  from  center  to  surface,  com- 
plains now  of  this  member,  now  of  that:  corn  laws, 
currency  laws,  free  trade,  protection,  want  of  free 
trade :  the  poor  patient,  tossing  from  side  to  side  seek- 
ing a  sound  side  to  lie  on,  finds  none." 

One  of  its  own  crude  and  forceful  orators  said 
on  Kersall  Moor  to  200,000  turbulent  workingmen 
of  Manchester :  "  Chartism,  my  friends,  is  no  mere 
political  movement,  where  the  main  point  is  your  get- 
ting the  ballot.  Chartism  is  a  knife  and  fork  ques- 
tion. The  charter  means  a  good  house,  good  food 
and  drink,  prosperity,  and  short  working  hours." 

*  The  Epoch  of  Reform,  p.  190. 

9  ENGELS,  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  in  1844,  p.  230. 
Engels,  who  came  to  England  at  this  time  and  was  employed  in 
Manchester  in  his  father's  business,  and  was  therefore  in  the 
heart  of  the  movement,  says  that  Chartism  was,  after  the  Anti- 
Corn  Law  League  had  been  formed,  "  purely  a  workingman's 
cause."  It  was  "  the  struggle  of  the  proletariat  against  the 
bourgeoisie."  "  The  demands  hitherto  made  by  him  (the 
laborer),  the  ten-hours'  bill,  protection  of  the  worker  against 
the  capitalist,  good  wages,  a  guaranteed  position,  repeal  of  the 
new  poor  law — all  of  these  things  belong  to  Chartism  quite  as 
essentially  as  the  '  Six  Points.' " — Supra  cit.,  pp.  229,  234,  235. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  53 

The  protest  of  this  discontent  became  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  revolution  England  had  encountered 
since  Charles  I.  Monster  meetings,  for  the  first  time 
called  "  mass  meetings,"  were  held  in  every  county, 
and  evenings,  after  working  hours,  enormous  parades 
were  organized,  each  participant  carrying  a  torch, 
hence  they  were  called  "  torchlight  parades."  These 
two  spectacular  features  were  soon  adopted  by  Amer- 
ican campaigners.  A  wild  and  desperate  feeling 
seized  the  masses.  "  You  see  yonder  factory  with  its 
towering  chimney,"  cried  one  of  its  orators.  "  Every 
brick  in  that  factory  is  cemented  with  the  blood  of 
women  and  children."  And  again :  "  If  the  rights  of 
the  poor  are  trampled  under  foot,  then  down  with  the 
throne,  down  with  aristocracy,  down  with  the  bishops, 
down  with  the  clergy,  burn  the  churches,  down  with 
all  rank,  all  title,  and  all  dignity."  10 

In  their  great  petition  to  Parliament,  signed  by 
several  million  people,  the  agitators  said :  "  The  Re- 
form Act  has  effected  a  transfer  of  power  from 
one  domineering  faction  to  another  and  left  the 
people  as  helpless  as  before."  "  We  demand  uni- 
versal suffrage.  The  suffrage,  to  be  exempt  from 
the  corruption  of  the  wealthy  and  the  violence  of  the 
powerful,  must  be  secret."  The  whole  movement  had 
all  the  aspects  of  a  modern,  violent  general  strike. 
Its  papers,  The  Poor  Man's  Guardian,  The  Destruc- 
tive, and  others,  were  full  of  tirades  against  wealth 
and  privilege.  When  the  agitation  became  an  upris- 
ing in  Wales,  there  was  a  conflict  between  the  Chart- 
ists and  the  police  in  which  a  number  were  killed  and 
wounded.  In  the  industrial  centers,  soldiers  were 

10  R.  G.  GRUMMAGE,  History  of  the  Chartist  Movement,  1837- 
54,  P-  59,  Newcastle,  1894. 


54   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

present  at  the  meetings,  and  the  outcry  against  the  use 
of  the  military  was  the  same  that  is  heard  to-day.  A 
number  of  the  leaders  were  tried  for  sedition,  and  the 
courts  became  the  objects  of  abuse  as  they  are  to-day. 
It  was  a  labor  war  for  political  privilege;  a  class  war 
for  economic  advantages. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION 

These  revolutions  were  political  in  that  they  were 
a  protest  against  existing  governmental  forms.  The 
revolutionary  proletarian  was  found  in  all  of  them. 
He  not  only  stood  under  the  standard  of  Daniel 
Manin  in  Venice,  when  that  patriot  again  proclaimed 
a  republic  in  the  ancient  city,  and  shared  with 
Mazzini  his  triumph  in  Rome,  and  fought  with 
Kossuth  for  the  liberty  of  Hungary;  but  he  formed 
also  the  body  of  the  revolutionary  forces  in  Germany, 
Austria,  and  France. 

In  all  the  Continental  countries  the  uprisings  were 
directed  against  the  arrogance  and  oppression  of  mon- 
archism,  and  against  the  recrudescence  of  feudalistic 
ideals.  In  France  Louis  Philippe  had  attempted  the 
part  of  a  petty  despot.  He  restricted  the  ballot  to  the 
propertied  class,  balanced  his  power  on  too  narrow  a 
base,  and  it  became  top-heavy. 

While  the  workingmen  of  Germany  and  Austria 
were  taking  up  arms  under  command  of  the  middle 
class  against  the  feudal  remnants,  the  workingmen 
of  France  were  sacking  their  capital  because  of  an 
attempted  revival  of  monarchic  privilege,  and  the 
workmen  of  England  were  marching  and  counter- 
marching in  monster  torchlight  parades  in  protest 
against  middle-class  domination. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  REVOLUTION  55 

The  panorama  of  Europe  in  these  years  of  turmoil 
and  blood  thus  exhibits  every  degree  of  revolt  against 
governmental  power,  from  the  absolutism  of  Prussian 
Junkerdom  and  the  oppression  of  the  Hungarians  by 
foreign  tyranny,  to  the  dominance  of  the  aristocratic 
and  middle-class  alliance  in  Great  Britain. 

The  bread-and-butter  question  was  not  wanting  in 
any  of  these  political  uprisings.  The  unity  of  life 
makes  their  separation  a  myth.  One  is  interwoven 
with  the  other.  The  social  struggle  is  political,  the 
political  struggle  is  social. 

Socialism  is  not  merely  an  economic  movement. 
It  seeks  to-day,  and  always  has  sought,  the  power 
of  the  state.  The  government  is  the  only  available 
instrument  for  effecting  the  change — the  revolution — 
the  Socialists  preach,  the  transfer  of  productive  en- 
terprise from  private  to  public  ownership.  "  Political 
power  our  means,  social  happiness  our  end,"  was  a 
Chartist  motto.  That  is  the  duality  of  Socialism 
to-day. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIAL- 
ISM—THE INTERNATIONAL 

WITH  1848  vanished,  more  or  less  rapidly,  the  revo- 
lutions of  the  old  school.  "  The  street  fight  and 
barricade,  which  up  to  1848  was  decisive,  now  grew 
antiquated,"  says  Engels.1  A  new  species  of  plotting 
and  propaganda  began.  The  exiled  agitators  and  revo- 
lutionists met,  naturally,  in  their  cities  of  refuge  for 
the  discussion  of  their  common  grievances.  They 
complained  that  "  the  proletarian  has  no  fatherland," 
and  internationalism  became  their  patriotism. 

In  Paris  a  few  of  the  ostracized  Socialists,  in  1836, 
founded  "  The  League  of  the  Just,"  a  communistic 
secret  society.2  The  group  were  compelled  to  leave 
Paris  because  they  were  implicated  in  a  riot,  and  when 
some  of  them  met  in  London  they  invited  other  refu- 
gees to  join  them.  Among  them  was  Marx,  and  his 
presence  soon  bore  fruit.  Their  motto,  "  All  men  are 
brethren,"  was  singularly  paradoxical  when  contrasted 
with  their  methods  of  sinister  conspiracy.  Marx,  with 
his  superior  intellect,  at  once  began  to  reshape  their 
ideas,  a  reorganization  was  effected  called  "  The 
Communist  League,"  and  Marx  and  Engels  were  dele- 
gated to  write  a  statement  of  principles  for  the  League. 

1  Introduction  to  Klassenkampfe,  p.  13. 

*  See  ENGELS,  Introduction  to  MARX'S  Enthiillungen  uber  den 
Kommunisten  Process  zu  Koln. 

56 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      57 

That  statement,  written  in  1847,  they  called  "  The 
Communist  Manifesto." 

The  "  Manifesto "  is  the  most  influential  of  all 
Socialist  documents.  It  is  at  once  a  firebrand  and  a 
formulary.  Its  formulae  are  the  well-known  Marxian 
principles;  its  energy  is  the  youthful  vigor  and  zeal 
of  ardent  revolutionists.  Nearly  all  the  generaliza- 
tions of  Capital  are  found  in  the  "  Manifesto."  This 
is  important,  for  it  gave  the  sanction  of  a  social  theory 
to  the  Socialist  movement.  Hitherto  there  had  been 
only  Utopian  generalizations  and  keen  denunciations 
of  the  existing  order.  It  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance that  early  in  the  development  of  the  move- 
ment it  was  given  an  economic  theory  expressed  in 
such  lucid  terms,  with  the  gusto  of  youth,  and  in  the 
terminology  of  science,  that  it  remains  to-day  the  best 
synopsis  of  Marx's  "  Scientific  Socialism." 

As  a  piece  of  campaign  literature  it  is  unexcelled. 
Combined  with  its  clearness  of  statement,  its  economic 
reasoning,  its  terrific  arraignment  of  modern  industrial 
society,  there  is  a  lofty  zeal  and  power  that  placed  it 
in  the  front  rank  of  propagandist  literature. 

Engels,  the  surviving  partner  of  the  Marxian  move- 
ment, wrote  in  the  preface  of  the  edition  of  1888: 

"  The  '  Manifesto  '  being  our  joint  production,  I 
consider  myself  bound  to  say  that  the  fundamental 
proposition  which  forms  its  nucleus  belongs  to  Marx." 
That  proposition  embraced  the  materialistic  theory  of 
social  evolution,  that  "  the  whole  history  of  mankind 
has  been  a  history  of  class  struggles  ...  in  which 
nowadays  a  stage  has  been  reached  where  the  ex- 
ploited and  oppressed  classes — the  proletariat — can- 
not attain  their  emancipation  from  the  sway  of  the  ex- 
ploiting and  ruling  classes — the  bourgeoisie — without 


58    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

at  the  same  time  and  once  for  all  emancipating  society 
at  large  from  all  exploitation,  oppression,  class  dis- 
tinctions, and  class  struggles." 

This  liberation  was,  of  course,  to  be  accomplished 
by  revolution.  The  "  Manifesto  "  closes  with  these 
spirited  and  oft-quoted  words: 

"  The  communists  disdain  to  conceal  their  views 
and  aims.  They  openly  declare  that  their  ends  can 
be  obtained  only  by  the  forcible  overthrow  of  all  ex- 
isting social  conditions.  Let  the  ruling  class  tremble 
at  a  communist  revolution.  The  proletarians  have 
nothing  to  lose  but  their  chains,  they  have  a  world  to 
win.  Workingmen  of  all  countries,  unite." 

This  was  the  language  and  the  spirit  of  the  times. 
The  "  Manifesto  "  was  published  only  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  February  revolution  of  1848.  For  a  mo- 
ment the  ruling  class  did  tremble;  but  the  ill-timed 
uprisings  were  promptly  suppressed  and  the  days  of 
reaction  set  in. 

Soon  the  workingmen  of  different  countries  were 
busy  with  the  stupendous  development  of  industry 
which  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  wars  and  revolu- 
tions that  had  harassed  the  Continent  for  over  fifty 
years.  The  revival  of  industry  brought  a  renewal  of 
international  trade.  This  was  followed  by  a  wider 
exchange  of  views  and  greater  international  intimacy. 
In  1862  the  first  International  Exposition  was  held. 

Before  we  proceed  with  the  development  of  the 
"  Old  International,"  as  it  is  now  called,  let  us  notice 
three  points  about  the  "  Manifesto."  First,  it  was 
not  called  the  "  Socialist  Manifesto,"  although  adopted 
by  Socialists  the  world  over.  Engels,  in  his  preface 
of  1888,  tells  us  why.  "  When  it  was  written  we 
could  not  have  called  it  a  Socialist  Manifesto.  By 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      59 

Socialist,  in  1847,  were  understood,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  adherents  of  the  various  Utopian  systems;  Owen- 
ites  in  England,  Fourierists  in  France,  both  of  them 
already  reduced  to  the  position  of  mere  sects,  and 
gradually  dying  out;  on  the  other  hand,  the  most 
multifarious  social  quacks  who,  by  all  manner  of  tin- 
kering, professed  to  redress,  without  any  danger  to 
capital  and  profit,  all  sorts  of  social  grievances;  in 
both  cases  men  outside  the  working-class  movement, 
and  looking  rather  to  the  '  educated '  classes  for  sup- 
port. Whatever  portion  of  the  working  class  had 
become  convinced  of  the  insufficiency  of  mere  political 
revolutions,  and  had  proclaimed  the  necessity  of  a 
total  social  change,  that  portion  then  called  itself  com- 
munist. It  was  a  crude,  rough-hewn,  purely  instinctive 
sort  of  communism;  still  it  touched  the  cardinal  point 
and  was  powerful  enough  amongst  the  working  class 
to  produce  the  Utopian  communism  in  France  of 
Cabet,  and  in  Germany  of  Weitling.  This  Socialism 
was,  in  1847,  a  middle-class  movement;  communism 
a  working-class  movement.  Socialism  was,  on  the 
Continent  at  least,  '  respectable  ' ;  communism  was  the 
very  opposite." 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  Engels  would 
define  Socialism  to-day. 

Second,  it  is  important  for  us  to  know  that  the 
"  Manifesto  "  recognized  the  necessity  of  using  the 
government  as  the  instrument  for  achieving  the  new 
society.  '  The  immediate  aim  of  the  communists,"  it 
recites,  "  is  the  conquest  of  political  power  by  the 
proletariat  ";  to  "  labor  everywhere  for  the  union  and 
agreement  of  the  democratic  parties  of  all  countries." 

The  governmental  organization  of  the  communists' 
state  was  to  be  democratic. 


60   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Thirdly,  a  provisional  program  of  such  a  politico- 
socio-democratic  party  is  suggested  in  the  "  Mani- 
festo." Its  principal  points  are: 

"  i.  Abolition  of  property  in  land  and  application  of 
all  rents  of  land  to  public  purposes. 

"  2.  A  heavy  progressive  or  graduated  income  tax. 

"  3.  Abolition  of  all  rights  of  inheritance. 

"  4.  Confiscation  of  the  property  of  all  emigrants  and 
rebels. 

"  5.  Centralization  of  credit  in  the  hands  of  the  state, 
by  means  of  a  national  bank  with  state  capital  and  an 
exclusive  monopoly. 

"  6.  Centralization  of  the  means  of  communication  and 
transport  in  the  hands  of  the  state. 

"  7.  Extension  of  factories  and  the  instruments  of  pro- 
duction owned  by  the  state :  the  bringing  into  cultivation 
of  waste  lands,  and  the  improvement  of  the  soil  generally, 
in  accordance  with  a  common  plan. 

"  8.  Equal  liability  of  all  labor.  Establishment  of  in- 
dustrial armies,  especially  for  agriculture. 

"  9.  Combination  of  agriculture  with  manufacturing 
industries;  gradual  abolition  between  town  and  country, 
by  a  more  equable  distribution  of  population  over  the 
country. 

"  10.  Free  education  for  all  children  in  public  schools, 
combination  of  education  with  industrial  production," 
etc. 

Though  the  "  Manifesto "  was  written  in  1848, 
neither  Marx,  who  lived  until  1882,  nor  Engels,  who 
died  in  1895,  made  any  alteration  in  it,  on  the  ground 
that  it  had  become  "  a  historical  document  which  we 
have  no  longer  any  right  to  alter."  3 

"  However  much  the  state  of  things  may  have 
altered  during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  the  general 

'Joint-preface  of  edition  of  1872. 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      61 

principles  laid  down  in  this  manifesto  are,  on  the 
whole,  as  correct  to-day  as  ever."  4 

On  one  very  important  point,  however,  they  could 
not  refrain  from  further  comment.  The  revolution- 
ary language  in  the  original  draft  would  be  radically 
modified  if  written  at  the  time  of  the  joint  preface 
in  1872.  The  example  of  the  Paris  Commune  was 
disheartening.  It  demonstrated  that  "  the  working 
class  cannot  simply  lay  hold  of  the  ready-made  state 
machinery  and  wield  it  for  its  own  purposes."  5 

These,  then,  were  the  principles  of  the  international 
movement  of  which  the  "  Manifesto  "  was  the  supreme 
expression.  When  labor  had  revived  from  its  first 
stupor,  after  the  hard  blows  it  received  in  the  years 
of  revolution,  the  "  Manifesto  "  was  translated  into 
several  Continental  languages.  With  the  revival  of 
internationalism,  it  has  been  translated  into  every  lan- 
guage of  the  industrial  world,  and  I  am  told  a 
Japanese  and  a  Turkish  edition  have  been  issued. 
This  is  a  gauge  of  the  spread  of  international  So- 
cialism. 

In  1862  a  number  of  French  workingmen,  visiting 
the  International  Exhibition  in  London,  were  enter- 
tained by  the  Socialist  exiles,  and  the  question  of 
reviving  an  international  movement  was  discussed. 
Two  years  later,  in  St.  Martin's  Hall,  London,  work- 
ingmen from  various  countries  organized  a  meeting 
and  selected  Mazzini,  the  Italian  patriot,  to  draw  up 
a  constitution.  But  the  South  European  view  of  class 
war  was  out  of  accord  with  the  German  and  French 
views,  and  Mazzini's  proposals  were  rejected.  Marx 

4  Ibid. 

"See  "Address  of  the  General  Council  of  the  Workingmen's 
Association  on  the  Civil  War  in  France." 


62   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

then  undertook  the  writing  of  the  address.  He  suc- 
ceeded remarkably  well  in  avoiding  the  giving  of 
offense  to  the  four  different  elements  present,  namely, 
the  trade  unionists  of  England,  who,  being  English- 
men, were  averse  to  revolutions;  the  followers  of 
Proudhon  in  France,  who  were  then  establishing  free 
co-operative  societies;  the  followers  of  Lassalle  in 
Germany  and  Louis  Blanc  in  France,  who  glorified 
state  aid  in  co-operation;  and  the  less  easily  satisfied 
contingent  of  Mazzini  from  Spain  and  Italy. 

Marx's  diplomacy  and  his  international  vocabulary 
stood  him  in  good  stead.  He  began  the  "  Address  " 
by  a  clever  rhetorical  parallelism.  Gladstone,  whose 
splendor  then  filled  the  political  heavens,  had  just 
delivered  a  great  speech  in  which  he  had  gloried  in 
the  wonderful  increase  in  Britain's  trade  and  wealth. 
Marx  contrasted  this  growth  in  riches  with  the  misery 
and  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  the  English  working 
classes.  Gladstone's  small  army  of  rich  bourgeois 
were  adroitly  compared  with  Marx's  large  army  of 
miserably  poor.  The  growth  of  wealth,  he  said, 
brought  no  amelioration  to  the  needy.  But  in  this 
picture  of  gloom  were  two  points  of  hope:  first,  the 
ten-hour  working  day  had  been  achieved  through  great 
struggles,  and  it  showed  what  the  proletarian  can  do 
if  he  persists  in  fighting  for  his  rights.  Second,  Marx 
alluded  to  the  co-operative  achievements  of  France 
and  Germany  as  a  proof  that  the  laboring  man  could 
organize  and  carry  on  great  industries  without  the 
intervention  of  capitalists.  With  these  two  elements 
of  hope  before  them,  the  laborers  should  be  of  good 
cheer.  Marx  admonished  them  that  they  had  num- 
bers on  their  side,  and  all  that  is  necessary  for  com- 
plete victory  is  organization.  In  closing  he  repeats 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      63 

the  battle-cry  of  '48:  "  Workingmen  of  all  lands, 
unite !  " 

The  "  statutes,"  or  by-laws 6  were  also  drawn  by 
Marx.  The  preamble  is  a  second  "  Manifesto,"  in 
which  he  reiterates  the  necessity  for  international  co- 
operation among  workingmen,  and  concludes :  "  The 
First  International  Labor  Congress  declares  that  the 
International  Workingmen's  Association,  and  all  so- 
cieties and  individuals  belonging  to  it,  recognize  truth, 
right,  and  morality  as  the  basis  of  their  conduct  to- 
wards one  another  and  their  fellowmen,  without  re- 
spect to  color,  creed,  or  nationality.  This  congress 
regards  it  as  the  duty  of  man  to  demand  the  rights 
of  a  man  and  citizen,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for 
every  one  who  does  his  duty.  No  rights  without 
duties,  no  duties  without  rights." 

The  "  Address  "  and  the  "  Statutes  "  were  adopted 
by  the  association  at  its  first  congress,  held  in  Geneva 
in  September,  1866,  where  sixty  delegates  represented 
the  new  movement.  With  the  vicissitudes  of  Marx's 
International  we  are  not  especially  concerned  here.  It 
met  annually  in  various  cities  until  1873,  when  its  last 
meeting  was  held  at  Geneva. 

Marx  had  successfully  avoided  offense  to  the  various 
elements  in  his  masterly  address  and  preamble.  But 
the  organization  contained  irreconcilable  elements 
more  or  less  jealous  of  one  another.  The  two  ex- 
tremes were  the  Anarchists,  led  by  the  Russian 
Bakunin,  and  the  English  labor  unions.  The  Anarch- 

*  Many  of  the  original  documents,  and  extensive  excerpts  from 
others,  are  given  in  DR.  EUGEN  JAGER'S  Der  Moderne  So- 
zialismus, Berlin,  1873,  and  in  DR.  R.  MEYER'S  Der  Emancipations- 
Kampf  des  Vierten  Standes,  2nd  edition,  Vol.  I,  Berlin,  1882. 
Both  of  these  works  give  a  fairly  detailed  account  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  International  and  of  its  annual  meetings. 


64   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

ists  believed  in  overthrowing  everything,  the  English 
laborists  abhorred  violence.  Between  these  two  ex- 
tremes stood  Marx's  doctrine  of  evolutionary  revolu- 
tion, as  distasteful  to  the  English  as  it  was  despised 
by  the  Anarchists. 

When  the  congress  met  at  The  Hague,  in  September, 
1872,  Marx  was  one  of  the  sixty-five  delegates.  He 
had  hitherto  held  himself  aloof  from  the  meetings. 
But  here  even  his  magnetic  presence  could  not  prevent 
the  breach  with  Bakunin.7  There  were  stormy  scenes. 
The  Anarchists  were  expelled,  and  the  seat  of  the 
general  council  was  transferred  to  New  York,  where 
it  could  die  an  unobserved  death. 

Before  the  final  adjournment  a  meeting  was  held 
in  Amsterdam.  Here  Marx  delivered  a  powerful 
speech  characterized  by  all  the  arts  of  expression  of 
which  he  was  master.  He  compared  these  humble 
"  assizes  of  labor "  with  the  royal  conferences  of 
"  kings  and  potentates  "  who  in  centuries  past  had 
been  wont  to  meet  at  The  Hague  "  to  discuss  the  in- 
terests of  their  dynasties."  He  admitted  that  in  Eng- 
land, the  United  States,  and  maybe  in  Holland,  "  the 
workmen  might  attain  their  goal  by  peaceful  means. 
But  in  most  European  countries  force  must  be  the  lever 
of  revolution,  and  to  force  they  must  appeal  when 
the  time  comes." 

These  were  his  last  personal  words  to  his  Inter- 
national, the  crystallization  of  his  lifelong  endeavor  to 
lead  the  workingmen's  cause.  There  was  one  more 
meeting  at  Geneva,  in  1873;  then  it  perished. 


1  See  Ein  Complot  gegen  die  International  Arbeiter  Asso- 
ciation, a  compilation  of  documents  and  descriptions  of  Baku- 
nin's  organization.  The  work  was  first  issued  in  French  and 
translated  into  German  by  S.  Koksky. 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      65 

Bakunin's  following,  renamed  the  International  Al- 
liance of  Social  Democracy,  meanwhile  went  the  way 
of  all  violent  revolutionists.  They  took  part  in  the 
uprisings  in  Spain  in  1873;  the  rebellion  was  promptly 
suppressed,  and  the  alliance  came  to  an  end. 

During  its  brief  existence  the  International  was  the 
red  bogey-man  of  European  courts.  The  most  violent 
and  bloodthirsty  ambitions  were  ascribed  to  it.  Such 
conservative  and  careful  newspapers  as  the  London 
Times  indulged  in  the  most  extreme  editorials  and 
news  items  about  the  sinister  organization  that  was 
soon  to  "  bathe  the  thrones  of  Europe  in  blood  "  and 
"  despoil  property  of  its  rights  "  and  "  human  society 
of  its  blessings." 

In  the  light  of  history,  these  fears  appear  ridiculous. 
The  poor,  struggling  organization  that  could  summon 
scarcely  one  hundred  members  to  an  international  con- 
vention was  powerful  only  in  the  possession  of  an 
idea,  the  conviction  of  international  solidarity.  Its 
plotting  handful  of  Anarchists  were  a  great  hindrance 
to  it,  and  the  events  of  the  Commune  put  the  stamp 
of  veracity  on  the  dire  things  the  public  press  had 
foretold  of  its  ambitions. 

The  programs  discussed  at  the  various  meetings 
are  of  more  importance  to  us  because  they  reveal 
whatever  was  practical  in  Marx's  organization.  For 
the  second  meeting,  1866,  the  following  outline  was 
sent  out  by  the  general  council  from  London.  It  was 
unquestionably  prepared  by  Marx  himself. 

"  i.  Organization  of  the  International  Association;  its 
ends ;  its  means  of  action. 

"  2.  Workingmen's  societies — their  past,  present,  and 
future;  stoppage,  strikes — means  of  remedying  them; 
primary  and  professional  instruction. 


66   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

"  3.  Work  of  women  and  children  in  factories,  from 
a  moral  and  sanitary  point  of  view. 

"  4.  Reduction  of  working  hours — its  end,  bearing,  and 
moral  consequences ;  obligation  of  labor  for  all. 

"  5.  Association — its  principle,  its  application ;  co-op- 
eration as  distinguished  from  association  proper. 

"  6.  Relation  of  capital  and  labor ;  foreign  competi- 
tion; commercial  treaties. 

"  7.  Direct  and  indirect  taxes. 

"  8.  International  institutions — mutual  credit,  paper 
money,  weights,  measures,  coins,  and  language. 

"9.  Necessity  of  abolishing  the  Russian  influence  in 
Europe  by  the  application  of  the  principle  of  the  right  of 
the  people  to  govern  themselves;  and  the  reconstitution 
of  Poland  upon  a  democratic  and  social  basis. 

"  10.  Standing  armies  and  their  relation  to  production. 

"  ii.  Religious  ideas — their  influence  upon  the  social, 
political,  and  intellectual  movements. 

"  12.  Establishment  of  a  society  for  mutual  help ;  aid, 
moral  and  material,  given  to  the  orphans  of  the  asso- 
ciation." 

This  reads  more  like  the  agenda  of  a  sophomore  de- 
bating society  than  the  outline  of  work  for  an  interna- 
tional congress  of  workingmen.  The  discussions  of  the 
congress  were  desultory,  quite  impractical,  and  often 
tinged  with  the  factional  spirit  that  ultimately  ruptured 
the  association.  At  its  first  meeting  the  discussion  of 
the  eight-hour  day,  the  limitation  of  work  for  women 
and  children,  and  the  establishing  of  better  free  schools 
took  a  modern  turn.  But  the  French  delegates 
brought  forward  a  proposal  to  confine  the  membership 
in  the  association  to  "  hand  workers."  This  was  to 
get  rid  of  Marx  and  Engels,  who  were  "  brain 
workers."  Socialism  was  evidently  no  more  clearly 
defined  then  than  it  is  to-day. 

Occasionally  practical  subjects  were  debated,  as  the 
acquiring  by  the  state  of  all  the  means  of  transporta- 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      67 

tion,  of  mines,  forests,  and  land.  But  their  time  was 
largely  taken  up  in  the  discussion  of  general  principles, 
such  as  "  Labor  must  have  its  full  rights  and  entire 
rewards."  Or  they  resolved,  as  at  Brussels  in  1868, 
that  producers  could  gain  control  of  machines  and 
factories  only  through  an  indefinite  extension  of  co- 
operative societies  and  a  system  of  mutual  credit;  or, 
as  at  Basle  the  following  year,  that  society  had  a  right 
to  abolish  private  property  in  land. 

It  is  apparent  to  any  one  who  reads  the  reports  of 
their  meetings  that  very  little  practical  advance  had 
been  made  since  the  "  Manifesto."  Socialism  was 
still  in  the  vapor  of  speculation.  It  had  absorbed 
some  practical  aspects  from  the  English  unions. 
These  were  at  first  interested  in  the  International,  and 
at  their  national  conference  in  Sheffield,  1868,  they 
even  urged  the  local  unions  to  join  it.  This  interest 
waned  rapidly  as  they  saw  the  Continental  contingent 
veer  towards  the  Commune. 

However,  the  beginnings  of  a  new  movement,  a 
"  new  Socialism,"  were  distinctly  seen  in  the  questions 
that  the  English  element  introduced :  the  length  of  the 
working  day,  factory  legislation,  work  of  women  and 
children.  These  had  been  the  subject  of  rigid  gov- 
ernmental inquiry.  Marx  was  thoroughly  familiar 
with  these  parliamentary  findings.  They  are  no  small 
part  of  the  fortifications  he  built  around  his  theory 
of  social  development.  But  his  German  training  in- 
clined him  to  the  Continental,  not  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
view  of  social  progress  and  of  politics. 

The  "  Old  International,"  then,  was  an  attempt  to 
spread  Marxian  doctrines  into  all  lands.  As  such  an 
attempt  it  is  noteworthy.  The  Marxian  modus,  how- 
ever, did  not  fit  the  world.  Some  Socialist  writers 


68   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

attribute  its  failure  to  the  fact  that  the  time  was  not 
ripe  for  Marx's  methods.  The  time  will  never  be 
ripe  for  the  Marxian  method.  Marx  tried  to  move 
everything  from  one  center.  He  was  a  German  dog- 
matist. His  council  was  a  centralized  autocracy, 
issuing  mandates  like  a  general  to  an  army.  This 
is  an  impossible  method  of  international  organization. 
The  center  must  be  supported  by  the  periphery,  not  the 
periphery  by  the  center.  There  could  be  no  proletarian 
internationalism  until  there  was  an  organized  prole- 
tarian nationalism. 

Its  conceptions  of  its  detailed  duties  were  even 
cruder  than  its  machinery.  The  discussions  were  a 
blending  of  pedantic  declamation  and  phosphoric  de- 
nunciation. Its  programs  were  a  mixture  of  English 
trade-union  realities  and  Continental  vagaries.  Such 
a  movement  had  neither  wings  nor  legs. 

But  it  had  an  influence,  nevertheless,  and  a  very 
important  one.  It  was  the  means  of  bringing  the 
new  generation  of  leaders  together,  the  men  who  were 
to  make  Socialism  a  practical  political  force.  Even 
the  fact  that  an  international  laboring  men's  society 
could  meet  was  important.  It  realized  the  central 
idea  of  Marx,  that  the  labor  problem  is  international. 
That  is  the  important  point.  Human  solidarity  is  not 
ethnic,  but  inter-ethnic.  The  "  Old  International  "  was 
a  faltering  step  toward  that  solidarity  of  humanity  that 
has  been  advanced  so  rapidly  by  inventions,  by  in- 
ternational arbitrations,  by  treaties  of  commerce,  and 
every  other  movement  that  makes  international  hos- 
tilities every  year  more  difficult. 

On  Socialism  the  "  International  "  had  at  least  one 
beneficial  effect.  It  cleared  its  atmosphere  of  the  an- 
archistic thunder  clouds  and  prepared  the  way  for 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      69 

the  present  more  practical  movement.  This  was 
largely  due  to  the  influence  of  the  English  trade 
unions.  They  were  not  inclined  toward  philosophical 
dissertations  like  the  Germans,  nor  brilliant  speculative 
vagaries  like  the  French.  Their  stolid  forms  were 
always  on  the  earth.  That  Marx  was  anxious  for 
their  support  is  apparent,  and  he  drove  them  out  of 
the  movement  by  his  indiscreet  utterances  on  the 
Parisian  Commune  of  1871. 

The  "  Old  International  "  was  a  revival  of  the  "  So- 
ciety of  the  Just,"  tempered  with  English  trade-union- 
ism and  tinged  with  Anarchism;  it  was  also  a  con- 
necting link  between  the  old  and  the  new  Socialism. 

The  characteristics  of  the  "  New  Socialism " 
cropped  out  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  "  New  Inter- 
national," as  it  is  called.  In  the  first  place,  the  co- 
operative movement  and  the  trade-union  movement 
were  both  amply  represented  at  the  Paris  meetings, 
where  the  "  New  International "  was  formed  in  1889. 
This  is  indicative  of  the  new  direction  that  the  eco- 
nomic phase  of  Socialism  has  since  taken.  In  the 
second  place,  the  Socialist  congress  split  into  two 
parties,  ostensibly  over  the  question  of  the  credentials 
of  certain  delegates,  but  really  over  the  question  that 
divides  Socialists  in  all  countries  to-day :  Shall  Social- 
ists co-operate  with  other  political  parties  or  remain 
isolated?  The  Marxian  dogmatists  believed  in  iso- 
lation; the  opportunists  or  Possibilists  believed  in  co- 
operating with  other  parties.  There  were  two  con- 
gresses. The  Marxian  congress  had  221  French  dele- 
gates and  about  175  from  other  countries.  The  Pos- 
sibilist  convention  was  composed  of  91  foreign  and 
521  French  delegates.  It  was  virtually  a  labor  union 
convention,  for  over  225  unions  were  represented.  It 


70   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

is  of  great  significance  that  these  two  meetings,  which 
divided  on  a  question  of  political  policy,  discussed  vir- 
tually the  same  questions.  They  were  against  war, 
believed  in  collectivism,  demanded  international  labor 
legislation,  the  eight-hour  day,  the  "  day  of  rest,"  etc.8 
Liebknecht,  the  distinguished  German  Socialist,  who 
was  one  of  the  chairmen  of  the  Marxian  convention, 
wrote  in  his  preface  to  the  German  edition  of  the 
Proceedings  that  the  Paris  meeting  began  a  new  era, 
"  and  indicated  a  break  with  the  past."  He  told  the 
delegates  at  the  convention,  "  the  Old  International 
lives  in  us  to-day."  There  was  a  continuity  of  pro- 
letarian ambition.  In  this  respect  the  old  movement 
was  resurrected  in  the  new.  But  in  every  other  re- 
spect the  old  movement  was  dead.  The  abstractions 
about  property  and  the  rights  of  individuals  did  not 
interest  the  new  generation.  They  were  more  con- 
cerned with  wages  than  wage  theories,  and  in  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  their  wages  than  in  a  theory  of 
values.  Even  the  spirit  of  the  class  consciousness  had 
changed.  Marx's  organization  was  the  source  of  the 
old;  national  consciousness  was  the  source  of  the  new. 

8  The  Possibilists  declared  for  an  eight-hour  day;  a  day  of 
rest  each  week;  abolition  of  night  work;  abolition  of  work 
for  women  and  children;  special  protection  for  children  14-18 
years  of  age ;  workshop  inspectors  elected  by  the  workmen ; 
equal  wages  for  foreign  and  domestic  labor ;  a  fixed  minimum 
wage ;  compulsory  education ;  repeal  of  the  laws  against  the 
International. 

The  Marxian  program  included :  an  eight-hour  day ;  children 
under  14  years  forbidden  to  work,  and  work  confined  to  six 
hours  a  day  for  youth  14-18  years  of  age,  except  in  certain 
cases ;  prohibition  of  work  for  women  dangerous  to  their 
health ;  36  hours  of  continuous  rest  each  week ;  abolition  of 
"  payment  in  kind " ;  abolition  of  employment  bureaus ;  in- 
spectors of  workshops  to  be  selected  by  workmen ;  equal  pay 
for  both  sexes ;  absolute  liberty  of  association. 

For  the  first  meeting  of  the  "New  International,"  see  WEIL,  ffis- 
toire  Internationale  de  France,  pp.  262  et  seq. 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      71 

The  present  internationalism  is  the  result  of  national- 
ism. The  delegates  at  Paris  were  representatives; 
they  represented  nationalities.  One  of  the  rules  of 
the  Marxian  congress  was  that  votes  should  be  counted 
"  by  the  head,"  unless  a  delegation  from  any  country 
should  unanimously  demand  "  voting  by  nationalities." 

In  the  twenty  years  that  had  elapsed  since  Bakunin 
and  his  conspiracy-loving  following  had  disrupted  the 
"  Old  International "  by  their  preaching  of  violence 
against  nationalism,  labor  had  increased  with  the  rapid 
strides  of  the  increasing  industry  and  commerce  of  the 
world.  This  labor  had  organized  itself  into  unions  and 
all  manner  of  co-operative  and  protective  associations. 
It  had  done  this  by  natural  compulsion  from  within, 
not  by  a  superimposed  force  from  without.  They  had 
thereby  found  their  national  homogeneity,  and  were 
ready  to  go  forward  into  a  great  and  universal  in- 
ternational homogeneity. 

The  International  Workingmen's  Association  now 
embraces  the  labor  movement  of  all  the  leading  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  At  the  last  congress,  held  in  Copen- 
hagen, 1910,  reports  were  received  from  the  following 
organizations:  the  British  Labor  Party,  the  Fabian 
Society,  the  Social  Democratic  Federation  of  England, 
the  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Germany,  the  Social 
Democratic  Labor  Party  of  Austria,  the  Commission 
of  Trade  Unions  of  Austria,  the  Social  Democratic 
Labor  Party  of  Bohemia,  the  Social  Democratic  Party 
of  Hungary,  the  Socialist  Party  of  France,  the  So- 
cialist Party  of  Italy,  the  Revolutionary  Socialist 
Party  of  Russia,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Lett- 
land,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Finland,  the  So- 
cialist Party  of  Norway,  the  Social  Democratic  Labor 
Party  of  Sweden,  the  Danish  Social  Democracy,  the 


72   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Social  Democratic  Party  of  Holland,  the  Belgian 
Labor  Party,  the  Socialist  Labor  Party  of  the  United 
States,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Servia,  and  the 
Bulgarian  Laborers'  Social  Democratic  Party.9  These 
names  indicate  the  threefold  nature  of  the  modern 
movement.  It  is  a  labor  movement,  it  is  democratic, 
and  it  is  Socialistic.  And  the  list  of  countries  shows 
that  it  is  international. 

At  Brussels  a  permanent  International  Socialist  Bu- 
reau is  maintained,  with  a  permanent  secretary,  who 
is  in  constant  touch  with  the  movement  in  all  countries. 

There  are  two  directions  in  which  this  remarkable 
co-operation  of  millions  of  workingmen  of  all  lands 
may  have  a  practical  effect  on  international  affairs. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  an  effort  being  made  to 
internationalize  labor  unions.  In  Europe  this  has  been 
done,  to  some  extent,  among  the  transportation 
workers.  They  have  an  international  committee  of 
their  own,  and  keep  each  other  informed  of  labor 
conditions  and  movements.  The  great  railway  strike 
in  England,  in  the  summer  of  1911,  was  planned  on 
the  Continent,  as  well  as  in  London  and  Liverpool, 
and  there  was  a  sympathetic  restlessness  with  the 
strikers  in  various  countries  adjacent  to  the  Channel 
that  threatened  to  break  out  in  violence.  During  the 
post-office  strike  in  France  the  strikers  attempted  to 
persuade  English  and  Belgian  railway  employees  to 
refuse  to  handle  French  mail.  The  Syndicalists  con- 
fidently look  forward  to  the  day  when  an  interna- 
tional labor  organization  will  be  able  to  compel  a 
universal  general  strike. 

In  the  second  place,  the  new  international  organiza- 

8  See  Appendix,  p.  340,  for  list  of  countries  that  maintain 
Socialist  organizations  and  the  political  strength  of  same. 


POLITICAL  AWAKENING  OF  SOCIALISM      73 

tion  will  have  a  far-reaching  influence  on  militarism. 
This  is  due  to  two  causes:  first,  the  recruit  himself 
is  filled  with  the  discontent  of  the  Socialist  before  he 
dons  the  uniform.  In  France,  Germany,  Belgium, 
Austria,  and  other  countries  the  anti-military  virus 
has  been  long  at  work.  But  more  potent  than  this  is 
the  feeling  of  international  solidarity  that  binds  these 
recruits  into  a  brotherhood  of  labor  who  are  unwilling 
to  fight  each  other  for  purposes  that  do  not  appeal 
to  the  Socialist  heart.  Warfare,  to  the  laboring  man, 
is  merely  one  phase  of  the  exploitation  of  the  poor 
for  the  benefit  of  the  capitalist,  and  patriotism  an 
excuse  to  hide  the  real  purposes  of  war.  At  St. 
Quentin,  in  1911,  the  French  Socialists  denounced  the 
war  in  Morocco  as  an  exploitation  of  human  lives 
for  the  purposes  of  capitalistic  gain.  The  German 
Social  Democracy  has  always  opposed  the  colonial  pol- 
icy of  the  chancellors  on  the  same  ground,  and  the  Bel- 
gian Labor  Party  has  been  the  severest  censor  of  the 
Belgian  Congo  campaigns. 

During  the  summer  of  1911  the  Morocco  incident 
threatened  a  war  between  France  and  Germany,  with 
England  involved,  and  the  other  great  powers  more 
than  interested.  In  August  and  September  the  situa- 
tion became  so  acute  that  England  and  Germany  were 
popularly  said  to  have  been  "  within  two  weeks  of 
war."  A  profound  sense  of  danger  and  an  intense  rest- 
lessness possessed  the  people.  During  this  period  of 
excitement  the  French  Socialists  held  anti-war  dem- 
onstrations. The  German  Social  Democrats  met  in 
their  annual  convention  at  Jena  and  passed  a  resolution 
condemning  the  German  Morocco  policy,  and  Herr 
Bebel  made  a  notable  speech,  detailing  the  horrors  of 
war  with  grim  exactness,  and  arraigning  a  civilization 


74   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

that  would  resort  to  the  "  monstrous  miseries  "  of 
war  for  gaining  a  few  acres  of  land.  This  speech 
was  quoted  at  length  by  the  great  European  dailies, 
and  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  people.  In 
England  the  leaders  of  the  Labor  Party  admonished 
the  government  that,  while  they  were  patriots  and  be- 
lieved in  national  solidarity,  the  English  workingman 
would  never  cease  to  consider  the  German  and  the 
French  workingman  as  a  fellow-laborer  and  brother. 
The  International  Socialist  Bureau  met  in  Zurich  to 
discuss  the  situation  and  to  consider  how  the  organiza- 
tions of  labor  might  make  their  protests  against  war 
most  effective. 

It  is  difficult  to  measure  the  influence  of  such  an 
international  protest  against  the  powers  of  govern- 
ments and  of  armies.  That  the  protest  was  made, 
that  it  was  sincere,  rational  and  free  from  the  hyper- 
bola of  passion,  is  the  significant  fact.  Forty  years 
ago  such  action  on  the  part  of  labor  would  have  been 
ridiculed.  To-day  it  is  respected. 

Disarmament,  when  it  comes,  will  be  due  to  the 
influences  exerted  by  the  recruit  rather  than  to  the 
benevolent  impulses  of  governments  and  commanders. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE 


THE  Commune  abruptly  put  an  end  to  Socialism  in 
France.  The  caldron  boiled  over  and  put  out  the 
fire.  Thiers,  in  his  last  official  message  as  president, 
claimed  that  Socialism,  living  and  thriving  in  Ger- 
many, was  absolutely  dead  in  France.  It  was,  how- 
ever, to  be  revived  in  a  newer  and  more  vital  form. 

The  exiled  communards,  in  England  and  elsewhere, 
came  in  contact  with  Marxianism,  and  in  1880,  when  a 
general  amnesty  was  declared,  they  brought  to  Paris 
a  new  and  virile  propaganda.  The  leader  of  the  new 
Marxian  movement  was  Jules  Guesde,  a  tireless  zealot, 
burning  with  the  fire  that  kindles  enthusiasm. 

The  "  affaire  Boulanger  "  absorbed  attention  at  this 
time,  and  Guesde,  in  his  newspapers,  La  Revolution 
Frangaise  and  fegalite,  supported  the  Republic.  But 
he  was  also  insisting  upon  "  Le  minimum  d'etat  et  la 
maximum  de  liberte  "  (a  minimum  of  government  and 
a  maximum  of  liberty).  This  may  be  taken  as  the 
political  maxim  of  the  Socialists  at  that  time,  although 
it  leads  them  into  the  embarrassing  anomaly  of  using 
their  own  slave  as  their  master. 

Meantime  a  political  labor  party  had  arisen.  In 
Paris,  in  1878,  a  workingman  became  a  candidate  for 
the  municipal  council,  and  he  headed  his  program  with 
the  words  "Parti  Ouvrier" — Labor  Party.  This  is 

75 


76   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

the  first  time  the  words  were  used  with  a  political 
significance.1  It  was  a  small  beginning,  his  votes  were 
few,  and  the  newspaper  that  espoused  the  working- 
man's  cause,  Le  Proletaire,  was  constantly  on  the  verge 
of  bankruptcy  for  want  of  proletarian  support.  In 
other  cities  the  political  labor  movement  began,  and  in 
1879  a  labor  conference  was  held  in  Marseilles. 

The  two  movements,  labor  and  Socialist,  drew  to- 
gether in  1880  at  a  general  conference  of  workingmen 
at  Havre.  Here  there  were  three  groups  which  found 
it  impossible  to  coalesce:  the  Anarchists,  under  Blan- 
qui,  formed  the  "  Parti  Socialiste  Revolutionnaire  " — 
the  Revolutionary  Socialist  Party;  the  co-operativists, 
calling  themselves  the  Republican  Socialist  Alliance, 
included  the  opportunist  element  of  the  Socialists; 
and  the  Guesdists,  who  were  in  the  majority,  organ- 
ized the  "  Parti  Ouvrier  Franc.ais " — the  French 
Labor  Party — and  adopted  a  Marxian  program. 

The  Guesdists  entered  the  campaign  with  character- 
istic zeal.  They  polled  only  15,000  votes  in  Paris 
and  25,000  in  the  Departments  for  their  municipal 
tickets,  and  50,000  in  the  entire  country  for  their  legis- 
lative ticket. 

From  the  first  the  Socialists  in  France  have  been 
rent  by  petty  factions.  We  will  hastily  review  these 
constantly  shifting  groups  before  proceeding  to  the 
larger  inquiry. 

In  1882  the  Guesdists  split,  and  Brousse  formed  the 
"  Federation  des  Travailleurs  Socialistes  de  France  " 
— the  Federation  of  Socialist  Workingmen  of  France. 
In  1885  Malon  formed  a  group  for  the  study  of  the 
social  problems,  "  Societe  d'Economie  Sociale  " — So- 

1  GEORGES  WEIL,  Histoire  du  Mouvement  Socialiste  en  France, 
Paris,  1904,  p.  220. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       77 

ciety  of  Social  Economics — which  rapidly  developed 
into  the  important  group  of  Independent  Socialists — 
"  Parti  Socialiste  Independent."  The  labor  movement 
was  stimulated  by  the  act  of  1884,  and  in  1886  the 
"  Federation  des  Syndicats  " — Federation  of  Labor 
Unions — was  organized  at  Lyons,  and  in  1887  the 
Paris  Labor  Exchange — "  Bourse  du  Travail  " — was 
opened. 

In  1882  Allemane  seceded  from  the  Broussists  to 
found  a  faction  of  his  own,  the  Revolutionary  Socialist 
Labor  Party  of  France — "  Parti  Ouvrier  Socialiste 
Revolutionnaire  Frangais."  In  1893  the  first  confed- 
eration of  the  labor  exchanges  (bourses)  was  held, 
and  the  first  conspicuous  victory  at  the  polls  achieved. 

In  1899  an  effort  was  made  to  unify  the  warring 
factions,  and  a  committee  representing  every  shade  of 
Socialistic  faith  was  appointed.  It  was  called  the  Gen- 
eral Committee — "  Comite  General  Socialiste."  With- 
in the  year  the  Guesdists  withdrew  on  account  of  the 
rigorous  quelling  of  the  strike  riots  by  the  government 
at  Chalons-sur-Saone.  In  1901  the  Blanquists  with- 
drew and,  coalescing  with  the  Guesdists,  formed  the 
Socialist  Party  of  France — "  Parti  Socialiste  de 
France."  This  movement  was  soon  followed  by  the 
uniting  of  the  Jauresites  and  the  Independents,  who 
called  themselves  the  French  Socialist  Party — "  Parti 
Socialiste  Frangais." 

After  the  expulsion  of  Millerand,  the  two  parties 
united  in  1905  at  Rouen.  This  unity  was  achieved 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  International  Congress  held  at 
Amsterdam,  1904.  The  "  United  Party  "  is  officially 
known  as  the  French  Section  of  the  International 
Workingmen's  Association — "  Section  Frangaise  de 
1'Internationale  Ouvriere." 


78    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

The  United  Party,  after  its  years  of  ridiculous  fac- 
tionalism, is  the  most  compact  and  disciplined  group 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  Guesdists  and  Jauresites  have  not  forgot- 
ten their  ancient  differences.  The  French  people  are 
not  amenable  to  discipline  and  party  rigor  as  are  the 
Germans  and  the  Anglo-Saxons.  At  the  last  election 
(1910)  the  United  Party  elected  76  deputies  in  a 
chamber  of  590  members. 

There  are  to-day  two  other  groups  that  are  more 
or  less  Socialistic  but  are  not  in  "  the  Party."  The 
Independent  Socialists,  numbering  thirty-four  mem- 
bers in  the  Chamber,  are  men  who,  either  because  of 
their  intellectualism  or  because  of  their  political  am- 
bitions, have  a  repugnance  to  hard  and  fast  organiza- 
tion. This  group  includes  a  number  of  college  pro- 
fessors and  journalists;  also  Briand,  Viviani,  and 
Millerand,  former  ministers.  They  are  not  committed 
to  any  definite  political  program,  take  a  leading  part 
in  all  social  reform  measures,  and  are  accused  by  the 
"  united  ones  "  of  using  the  name  Socialist  merely  as 
a  bait  for  votes. 

The  other  group  is  the  Socialist-Radical  Party,  num- 
bering about  250  members  in  the  Chamber.  In  most 
countries  their  radicalism  would  be  called  Socialism. 
But  in  France  they  are  only  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween Socialists  and  liberal  Republicans.2 

ii 

The  "  social  questions  "  were  slow  in  entering  parlia- 
ment. In  1876  a  Bonapartist  deputy,  known  for  his 

1  Other  groups — the  word  party  is  hardly  applicable  in  the 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies — are  the  reactionary  Right;  the 
republican  Conservatives,  or  Center;  the  Radical  Left,  or 
Liberals. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       79 

charities,  interpolated  the  government,  asking  what 
inquiries  were  being  made  toward  securing  the  moral 
and  material  betterment  of  "  the  greatest  number," 
and  amidst  the  cheers  of  his  followers  the  Prime  Min- 
ister replied  that  the  government's  duty  was  compre- 
hended in  securing  to  the  country  "  liberty,  security, 
and  education."  This  was  the  old  idea  of  the  func- 
tions of  government.  The  new  social  movement  had 
not  yet  gathered  momentum. 

With  the  development  of  the  workingman's  political 
party,  interest  and  sympathy  for  his  problems  suddenly 
increased.  In  1880  the  Republicans  adopted  a  resolu- 
tion in  favor  of  freedom  of  association.  At  this  time 
labor  unions  were  illegal.  In  1881  the  government 
removed  the  restrictions  that  had  been  placed  on  the 
press.  In  the  following  year  it  extended  the  primary 
schools  into  every  commune,  and  Gambetta  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  promulgate  what  he  termed  "  an 
alliance  of  the  proletariat  and  the  bourgeois."  Social 
science,  he  said,  was  the  solvent  of  social  ills.  The 
Socialists,  however,  believed  that  politics,  not  "  social 
science,"  was  the  solvent. 

It  was  not  until  1884,  while  Waldeck-Rousseau  was 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  that  labor  was  given  the  legal 
right  to  organize.  Immediately  unions — called  syndi- 
cats  by  the  French — sprang  up  everywhere.  Article  3 
of  the  act  declared  that  these  unions  had  for  their 
exclusive  object  "  the  study  and  the  promulgation  of 
their  interests,  economic,  industrial,  commercial,  and 
agricultural."  They  were  not  given  the  liberal  legal 
powers  that  English  and  American  unions  have. 

The  social  movement  now  invaded  French  politics 
in  full  battle  array.  A  government  commission  was 
intrusted  with  the  study  of  the  co-operative  move- 


80    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

ment.  In  1885  several  deputies,  calling  themselves 
Socialists,  began  to  interpellate  the  ministry  on  the 
labor  questions.  The  government  brought  in  two  pro- 
posals, one  pertaining  to  communal  and  industrial  or- 
ganizations, the  other  to  the  arbitration  of  industrial 
disputes.  Both  were  tabled. 

In  1887  a  man  appeared  in  the  Chamber  ready  to 
debate  the  social  questions  with  the  keenest  and  the 
ablest.  This  was  Jean  Jaures,  a  professor  of  philos- 
ophy, whose  profound  knowledge  and  superb  oratory 
immediately  commanded  attention.  He  was  joined  by 
another  new  deputy,  M.  Millerand,  scarcely  less  pro- 
ficient in  debate,  and  even  more  extreme  in  his  con- 
victions. Both  were  considered  members  of  the  rad- 
ical party.  But  they  soon  formed  the  nucleus  of  a 
new  group,  the  Independent  Socialists,  that  grew  rap- 
idly in  influence  and  power. 

The  social  question  was  forced  on  the  public  from 
yet  another  direction.  The  Anarchists,  who  had  been 
expelled  from  the  Havre  conference,  remained  passive 
until  the  organization  of  trade  unions.  They  then 
began  to  promulgate  the  doctrine  of  the  general  strike. 
The  unionists  began  not  only  to  compel  their  em- 
ployers to  accede  to  their  demands,  but  to  coerce  work- 
ingmen  to  join  the  unions.  It  was  during  this  agita- 
tion that  the  government  established  an  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  labor  exchanges — "  Bourse  du  Travail." 

From  the  labor  unions  the  doctrine  of  the  general 
strike  was  insinuated  into  Socialist  circles.  In  1890 
it  was  proposed  as  a  practical  measure  for  enforcing 
the  demand  for  an  eight-hour  day  among  the  miners. 
In  1892  the  Departmental  Congress  of  Workingmen 
at  Tours  passed  a  resolution  favoring  the  general 
strike,  and  it  was  discussed  a  few  days  later  in  a 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       81 

general  convention  of  the  unions,  at  the  suggestion 
of  Aristide  Briand,  a  Socialist  who  was  destined  to 
play  an  important  role  in  the  development  of  the  theory 
and  practice  of  general  strikes. 

The  government  could  no  longer  dodge  the  social 
question.  Millerand  announced  his  conversion  to  So- 
cialism and  became  the  leader  of  a  small  parliamentary 
coterie  who  pressed  the  issue  daily.  In  a  signed  state- 
ment to  the  unions  they  said :  "  The  Republic  has  given 
the  ballot  into  your  hand,  now  give  the  Republic  your 
instructions."  3  The  parliamentary  entente  of  the  lib- 
eral Socialists  with  the  Radical  Left  dates  from  this 
time.  The  campaign  spread  with  surprising  fervor. 
Labor  unions  and  parliamentary  Socialists  joined  their 
forces.  In  1893  they  elected  forty  Socialists  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  Among  them  were  Jaures, 
who  now  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Socialist  oppor- 
tunists; Millerand,  conspicuous  as  leader  of  the  in- 
dependent group ;  Guesde,  the  vehement  Marxian ;  and 
Vaillant,  a  communard  and  Socialist  of  the  older  type. 

Now  began  the  actual  parliamentary  Socialism  in 
France.  Jaures,  in  introducing  the  group — they  were 
scarcely  a  party — to  the  Chamber,  affirmed  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Republic  and  their  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  humanity.  The  misery  of  the  people  had 
awakened,  he  said,  after  right  of  association  had 
been  granted.  Labor  had,  through  strikes,  gained 
certain  minor  improvements.  It  was  now  prepared 
to  conquer  public  authority.  But  so  much  of  their 
time  was  spent  in  quarreling  with  each  other,  and 
debating  whether  they  should  vote  with  the  Radicals, 
that  very  little  substantial  work  was  accomplished  by 
the  Socialists. 

*  WEIL,  supra  cit.,  p.  276. 


82    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Finally,  encouraged  by  their  unusual  success  in  the 
municipal  elections  of  1896,  the  leaders  of  the  various 
factions  met  at  Saint-Mande  to  celebrate  their  victory. 
They  were  tiring  of  their  quarrels  and  were  ready  to 
unite.  At  least  they  agreed  that  each  group  could 
name  its  own  candidate  for  the  first  ballot;  on  the 
second  ballot  they  should  all  support  the  Socialist 
who  polled  the  most  votes  on  the  first  ballot.4 

But  who  is  a  Socialist?  Here  for  the  first  time  a 
political  definition  was  attempted.  Millerand,  a  Pari- 
sian lawyer  who,  we  have  seen,  made  his  political 
debut  with  Jaures,  as  a  member  of  the  Radical  Left, 
attempted  the  answer.  It  was  made  in  the  presence 
of  Guesde,  Vaillant,  and  Jaures,  and  many  local 
leaders  from  various  parts  of  France.  So,  for  the 
moment  and  for  the  occasion  of  rejoicing,  there  was 
a  united  Socialism.  And  it  gave  assent,  with  vary- 
ing enthusiasm,  to  the  general  definition  and  program 
outlined  by  Millerand.  He  defined  the  ground  to  be 
covered  as  follows: 

"  Is  not  the  Socialistic  idea  completely  summed  up 
in  the  earnest  desire  to  secure  for  every  being  in  the 
bosom  of  society  the  unimpaired  development  of  his 
personality?  That  implies  two  necessary  conditions 
of  which  one  is  a  factor  of  the  other :  first,  individual 
appropriation  of  things  necessary  for  the  security  and 
development  of  the  individual,  i.e.,  property ;  secondly, 
liberty,  which  is  only  a  sounding  and  hollow  word 
if  it  is  not  based  on  and  safeguarded  by  property." 

He  then  accepted  in  to  to  the  Marxian  theory  that 
capitalistic  society  bears  within  itself  the  enginery 

4  In  France,  when  any  one  candidate  for  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  fails  to  receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  a  second 
ballot  is  taken,  for  the  two  receiving  the  highest  number  of 
votes. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       83 

of  its  own  doom.  "  Men  do  not  and  will  not  set 
up  collectivism;  it  is  setting  itself  up  daily;  it  is,  if 
I  may  be  allowed  the  phrase,  being  secreted  by  the 
capitalistic  regime.  Here  I  seem  to  have  my  finger 
on  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  Socialist  program. 
In  my  view,  whoever  does  not  admit  the  necessary  and 
progressive  replacement  of  capitalistic  property  by 
social  property  is  not  a  Socialist." 

Millerand  was  not  satisfied  with  merely  including 
banking,  railroads,  and  mining  in  the  list  of  "  social- 
ized "  property.  He  believed  that  as  industries  be- 
come "  ripe  "  they  should  be  taken  over  by  the  state, 
and  cites  sugar  refining  as  an  example  of  a  monopoly 
that  is  "  incontestably  ripe."  Millerand  also  laid 
great  stress  on  municipal  activities,  and  hastened  to 
guarantee  to  the  small  property  owner  his  modest 
possessions.  All  this  taking  over  by  the  state  was  to  be 
done  gradually.  "  No  Socialist  ever  dreamed  of  trans- 
forming the  capitalistic  regime  instantaneously  by 
magic  wand."  The  method  of  this  gradual  absorption 
by  the  state  must  be  constitutional.  "  We  appeal  only 
to  universal  suffrage.  To  realize  the  immediate  re- 
forms capable  of  relieving  the  lot  of  the  working 
class,  and  thus  fitting  it  to  win  its  own  freedom,  and 
to  begin,  as  conditioned  by  the  nature  of  things,  the 
socialization  of  the  means  of  production,  it  is  neces- 
sary and  sufficient  for  the  Socialist  party  to  endeavor 
to  capture  the  government  through  universal  suf- 
frage." 6 

This  mild  formulary,  which  places  the  "  socialized 
society "  far  into  the  dim  future,  was  accepted  as 

"Quoted  by  ENSOR,  Modern  Socialism,  pp.  48-55.  See  also  a 
collection  of  Millerand's  speeches,  Le  Socialisme  Reformiste 
Franqais,  Paris,  1903. 


84    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

long  as  it  was  rhetorical.  But  when  Millerand  him- 
self became  a  member  of  the  cabinet  in  the  Waldeck- 
Rousseau  coalition,  and  began  to  translate  his  words 
into  deeds,  a  rupture  followed. 

In  the  meantime  occurred  the  Dreyfus  affair,  which 
shifted  all  the  political  forces  of  the  Republic.  At 
first  the  Guesdists  remained  indifferent,  while  Jaures, 
with  great  energy,  threw  himself  into  the  contest  in 
behalf  of  Dreyfus.  But  when  the  affair  took  an 
anti-Republican  turn  and  democracy  was  threatened, 
then  all  the  Socialists  united,  with  no  lack  of  energy 
and  zeal,  in  the  defense  of  the  Republic.  On  June  13, 
1898,  Millerand  was  spokesman  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  for  the  Socialist  group,  which  now  held  the 
balance  of  power.  With  threats  of  violence  against 
the  Republic  in  the  air,  he  assured  the  deputies  that 
his  comrades  were  united  for  "  the  honor,  the  splen- 
dor, and  the  safety  of  the  Fatherland  "  (1'honneur, 
la  grandeur,  et  la  securite  de  la  Patrie).  And  this 
was  part  of  the  price  of  their  adhesion:  old-age  pen- 
sions, a  fixed  eight-hour  day,  factory  legislation  pro- 
tecting the  life  and  health  of  the  workman,  military 
service  reduced  to  two  years,  and  an  income  tax. 
The  Radical  Left  adopted  this  "  minimum  program  " 
of  the  Socialists,  and  the  famous  "  Bloc  "  was  formed. 
Jaures  was  made  vice-president  of  the  Chamber  and 
soon  proved  himself  master  of  the  coalition.  Now 
for  the  first  time  in  history  the  Socialists  were  in 
political  power,  and  what  occurred  is  of  the  greatest 
interest  to  us. 

in 

And  now  for  the  first  time  a  Socialist  becomes 
a  cabinet  member.  In  1899  Waldeck-Rousseau  ap- 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       85 

pointed  Millerand  Minister  of  Commerce,  to  the 
consternation  of  the  Conservatives  and  the  division 
of  the  Socialists.  Jaures  congratulated  his  colleague 
on  his  courage  in  assuming  responsibility.  But  while 
the  Independents  were  jubilant  over  the  elevation  of 
one  of  their  number,  the  Guesdists  and  Blanquists 
withdrew  from  the  "  Bloc."  They  issued  a  manifesto 
setting  forth  their  reasons.  They  did  not  wish 
further  alliances  with  a  "  pretended  Socialist."  They 
were  tired  of  "  compromises  and  deviations,"  which 
for  too  long  a  time  had  been  forced  on  them  as  "  a 
substitute  for  the  class  war,  for  revolution,  and  the 
socialism  of  the  militant  proletariat."  6 

To  them  the  war  of  the  classes  forbade  their  en- 
trance into  a  bourgeois  ministry;  and  the  conquest  of 
political  power  did  not  imply  collaboration  with  a 
government  whose  duty  it  was  to  defend  property. 
Jaures  proposed  to  put  the  question  up  to  the  party 
congress,  and  in  1899  at  Paris  a  bilateral  compromise 
resolution  was  adopted.  Guesde,  however,  restless 
and  dissatisfied,  compelled  the  congress  to  vote  first 
upon  the  question,  "  Does  the  war  of  the  classes  per- 
mit the  entrance  of  a  Socialist  into  a  bourgeois  gov- 
ernment?" The  answer  was  818  "no,"  634  "yes." 
Jaures'  compromise  was  then  adopted,  1,140  to  240.* 

The  international  congress  held  in  Paris,  Septem- 
ber, 1900,  adopted  Kautsky's  resolution  declaring  that 
the  acceptance  of  office  by  a  single  Socialist  in  a 
bourgeois  government  "  could  not  be  deemed  the  nor- 
mal commencement  of  the  conquest  for  political 


6  See  "  Manifeste  14  Juillet,"   1899. 

7  See     Vme    Congres    General    des    Organisations    Socialistes 
Franqais   tenu   a  Paris   du   3   au   8   Decembre.      Compte-rendu 
stenographique    ofhciel,    1900,    p.    154  ff. 


86   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

power,  but  only  an  expedient  called  forth  by  transitory 
and  exceptional  conditions." 

At  the  Bordeaux  congress,  April,  1903,  the  whole 
time  was  given  over  to  this  perplexing  question.  The 
congress  was  composed  largely  of  friends  of  Millerand 
and  Jaures.  By  this  time  the  Socialist  minister  had 
had  three  years'  experience  in  the  cabinet.  The 
Waldeck-Rousseau  premiership  had  given  way  to 
Combes,  who  was  also  dependent  upon  the  Socialists 
for  his  power. 

Millerand  had  especially  offended  the  Socialists  by 
voting  against  his  party  on  three  separate  occasions: 
first,  on  a  resolution  abolishing  state  support  for  pub- 
lic worship;  second,  on  a  resolution  to  prosecute  cer- 
tain anti-militarists  for  publishing  a  book  that  tended 
to  destroy  military  discipline;  and,  third,  on  a  resolu- 
tion asking  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  invite 
proposals  for  international  disarmament.  He  had 
further  offended  the  Socialists  by  officially  receiving 
the  Czar  on  his  visit  to  Paris. 

The  debate,  then,  was  disciplinary  rather  than  doc- 
trinal. But  it  was  political  discipline,  evidence  there- 
fore that  a  party  consciousness  of  some  sort  had  been 
achieved.  This  meeting  is  significant  because  it  tried 
to  fix  definite  limits  for  Socialistic  action  and  com- 
mitted Jaures  to  the  narrowing,  not  to  the  expanding, 
policy  of  the  party. 

M.  Sarrante  expressed  the  Millerand  idea  when 
he  told  the  delegates  that  they  were  to  judge  "  an 
entire  policy,"  the  policy  of  "  democratic  Socialism, 
which  gains  ground  daily  on  the  revolutionary  Social- 
ism, a  policy  which  Citizen  Millerand  did  not  start, 
which  he  has  merely  developed  and  defined,  and  which 
forces  itself  upon  us  more  and  more  in  our  republican 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       87 

country."  The  test  of  Socialism,  he  said,  was  just  this 
"  contact  of  theory  with  facts." 

Jaures  found  himself  in  logical  difficulty  when  he 
endeavored  to  reconcile  both  sides  for  the  sake  of 
party  unity.  He  said  that  Sarrante  was  wrong 
"  when  he  thinks  it  enough  to  lay  down  the  principle 
of  democracy  in  order  to  resolve,  in  a  sort  of  auto- 
matic fashion,  the  antagonisms  of  society.  .  .  . 
The  enthronement  of  political  democracy  and  univer- 
sal suffrage  by  no  means  suppresses  the  profound 
antagonism  of  classes.  .  .  .  Sarrante  errs  in  positing 
democracy  without  noting  that  it  is  modified,  adul- 
terated, thwarted  by  the  antagonism  of  classes  and 
the  economic  preponderance  of  one  class.  Just  as 
Guesde  errs  in  positing  the  class  war  apart  from  democ- 
racy." 

To  Jaures  the  problem  was  to  "  penetrate "  this 
democracy  with  the  ideas  of  Socialism  until  the  "  pro- 
letarian and  Socialistic  state  has  replaced  the  oli- 
garchic and  bourgeois  state."  This  can  be  brought 
about,  he  said,  by  "  a  policy  which  consists  in  at  once 
collaborating  with  all  democrats,  yet  vigorously  dis- 
tinguishing one's  self  from  them." 

Jaures  acknowledged  the  awkwardness  of  this  policy, 
which  required  a  superhuman  legerdemain  never  yet 
accomplished  by  any  party  in  the  history  of  politics. 

Guesde's  motion  to  oust  Millerand  from  the  party 
was  lost.  And  a  compromise  offered  by  Jaures  cen- 
suring him  for  his  votes,  but  permitting  him  to  re- 
main in  the  party  fold,  was  adopted  by  109  to  89 
votes,  fifteen  delegates  abstaining  from  voting.  This 
was  a  very  close  margin,  and  in  spite  of  Millerand's 
promise  that  he  would  in  the  future  be  more  careful 
of  his  party  allegiance  he  was  expelled  the  following 


88    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

year  from  the  Federation  of  the  Seine.     The  stum- 
bling-block was  removed.8 

More  important  than  the  party  discipline  is  the 
question  of  the  economic  measures  attempted  by  Mil- 
lerand.  In  general  he  followed  the  outlines  laid  down 
in  his  Saint-Mande  program.9  His  experience  car- 
ried him  farther  away  from  the  Guesdists  every  year 
until  he  repudiated  the  class  war  and  adhered  to  social 
solidarity;  substituted  the  method  by  evolution  for 
the  method  by  revolution,  still  espoused  by  Guesde; 
and  placed  the  national  interests  upon  as  high  a  plane 
of  duty  as  the  international  and  the  personal.  His 
program  of  labor  legislation  was  comprehensive,  and 
he  succeeded  in  getting  some  of  it  passed  into  law. 
These  were  his  leading  proposals: 

1.  Regulating  the  hours  of  labor  and  creating  a 
normal  working  day  of  ten  hours.     He  began  the 
reduction  at  eleven  hours,  reducing  it  to  ten  and  a 
half,  and  then  to  ten  within  three  years.    In  the  public 
works  of  his  own  department  he  reduced  the  working 
day  at  once  to  eight  hours. 

2.  In  public  contracts  he  introduced  clauses  favor- 
able  to   workingmen.      These   clauses   embraced   the 
number  of  hours  in  a  normal  work  day,  the  minimum 
wage  for  every  class  of  workmen,  prohibition  of  piece- 
work, guarantee  of  no  work  on  Sunday,  and  the  per 
cent,  of  foreign  workmen  allowed  on  the  job.     He 
arranged  that  the  workingmen  should  unite  with  the 
employer  in  fixing  the  wages  and  the  hours  of  labor 
before  the  contract  was  signed.     In  these  contracts, 

'A  partial  report  of  the  debate  of  the  Bordeaux  congress  is 
given  in  ENSOR'S  Modern  Socialism,  pp.  163-184. 

8  See  A.  LAVY,  L'CEuvre  de  Millerand,  Paris,  1902,  a  sym- 
pathetic account  of  his  work;  contains  also  extracts  from  his 
speeches  and  state  papers. 


furthermore,  the  state  reserved  the  right  to  indemnify 
the  workmen  out  of  the  funds  due  to  the  contractor. 

3.  An  accident  insurance  law. 

4.  The  abolition  of  private  employment  agencies, 
with  their  many  abuses,  and  replacing  them  with  com- 
munal labor  bureaus  free  to  all.    The  voluntary  feder- 
ations of  the  trade  unions  were  put  on  a  similar  foot- 
ing with  the  communal  labor  exchanges,  and  were 
encouraged  to  co-operate  with  them.     Millerand  took 
great  care  to  perfect  the  organization  of  trade  unions. 
He  introduced  amendments  to  the  old  law  of   1884, 
giving  greater  scope  and  elasticity  to  the  unions,  grant- 
ing them  greater  corporate  powers,  and  making  the 
dismissal  of  a  workman  because  he  belonged  to  a  union 
ground  for  a  civil  suit  for  damages.     He  began  a 
movement   to    secure   the    co-operation   between    the 
unions  and  the  state  workshop  inspectors.    There  had 
been  a  great  deal  of  abuse  in  the  operation  of  the 
inspection  laws  by  the  employers.    An  attempt  was  now 
made  to  define  strictly  the  rights  and  duties  of  the 
inspectors. 

5.  His  pet  scheme  was  the  establishing  of  labor 
councils    (conseils    du   travail).      On   these   councils 
labor  and  employer  were  to  have  equal  representation. 
The  duty  of  the  councils  embraced  the  adjudication  of 
all  disputes  arising  between  employer  and  employee, 
suggesting  improvements,  and  keeping  vigilance  over 
all  local  labor  conditions.     In  1891  a  supreme  labor 
council  had  been  established.    To  this  Millerand  added 
lay  and   official   members   and   greatly   increased   its 
efficiency.     He  tried  to  make  it  a  central  vigilance 
bureau,  keeping  in  close  touch  with  local  conditions 
all  over  the  land. 

6.  He  elaborated  a  plan  for  regulating  industrial 


90   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

disputes.  This  was  to  be  effected  by  a  permanent 
organization  in  each  establishment  employing  more 
than  fifty  men,  a  sort  of  committee  of  grievance  to 
which  all  matters  of  dispute  might  be  referred.  In 
case  of  failure  to  settle  their  difficulties  an  appeal  to 
the  local  labor  council  was  provided.  By  this  demo- 
cratic representative  machinery  Millerand  hoped  to 
solve  the  labor  problem. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Millerand's  plan  was  an  at- 
tempt, by  law,  to  project  the  working  class,  not  into 
politics  but  into  the  capitalist  class.  He  would  do 
this  by  compelling  the  employer  to  share  the  respon- 
sibility of  ownership  with  his  employees.  This  would 
mark  the  beginning  of  a  revolution  very  different 
from  the  revolution  ordinarily  preached  by  propa- 
gandists, because  this  revolution  would  substitute  class 
peace  in  place  of  our  present  incessant  economic  class 
war. 

The  Socialists  made  it  plain  that  Millerand's  pro- 
cedure was  not  Socialism.  When  Millerand  was  first 
asked  to  take  a  cabinet  portfolio  his  friend  Jaures  told 
him  to  accept.  When  he  had  perfected  his  practical 
procedure,  and  the  bulk  of  the  proletarians  evinced 
their  disappointment  and  chagrin  that  the  elevation  of 
a  Socialist  had  not  brought  Utopia,  Jaures  gradually 
slipped  away  from  his  former  alliance  and  finally  left 
the  reformist  group. 

Jaures  also  had  his  day  of  power.  The  Dreyfus 
affair  presented  the  issue  in  tangible  form — the  old 
traditions,  religious,  political,  social,  against  the  new 
ideas  of  society,  property,  and  government.  It  was 
the  heroic  period  of  modern  French  Socialism.  Red 
and  black  flags  were  borne  by  enthusiastic  multitudes 
through  the  streets  of  Paris.  The  "  Universite  Pop- 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       91 

ulaire"  was  inaugurated  by  students  for  the  purpose 
of  instructing  the  common  people  in  the  issues  that 
were  at  stake.  The  flame  of  eager  anticipation  spread 
over  the  Republic. 

As  master  of  the  "  Bloc  "  in  the  Chamber,  Jaures 
became  the  first  real  head  in  the  first  French  democ- 
racy. Two  great  reforms  were  undertaken:  the  dis- 
establishment of  the  Church,  carrying  with  it  the  secu- 
larization of  education  and  the  reorganization  of  the 
army.  The  old  Royalist  families  had  continued  to 
send  their  sons  into  the  army  and  navy.  Many  of 
the  officers  were  suspected  of  royalist  sympathies. 
An  elaborate  system  of  espionage  was  instituted,  and 
the  suspects  weeded  out.  The  last  vestige  of  the  old 
monarchy  has  now  disappeared  from  French  official- 
dom. France  has  a  bourgeois  army,  a  bourgeois  school 
system,  a  bourgeois  bureaucracy,  thanks  to  the  power 
of  the  proletarian  Socialists  led  by  Jaures  in  the  days 
of  the  Republic's  danger. 

Jaures  remained  orthodox;  Millerand  became  here- 
tic. The  Millerand  episode  left  a  deep  impression 
on  the  public  mind.  The  first  Socialist  minister 
shaped  not  only  a  program  but  an  entire  policy.  In 
1906,  when  a  new  cabinet  was  formed,  Millerand  de- 
clined a  portfolio,  but  two  other  Socialists  accepted 
cabinet  honors;  Viviani,  a  well-known  Parisian 
lawyer,  held  the  newly  created  ministry  of  labor  and 
social  prevision  (prevoyance  sociale),  and  Aristide 
Briand  became  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  and 
Worship,  and  later  Minister  of  Justice. 

The  public  regarded  the  elevation  of  two  Socialists 
to  the  cabinet  as  a  matter  of  course.  Millerand's  ac- 
tivity had  taken  the  fear  out  of  their  hearts.  Even 
the  Marxian  Socialists  failed  to  notice  the  event. 


92   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

They  had  written  into  their  party  by-laws  that  no 
Socialist  could  accept  office,  so  the  new  ministers,  by 
their  own  acts,  ceased  to  be  "  Socialists." 

Clemenceau,  the  new  Premier,  ushered  in  the  next 
period  of  social  adventure  by  a  brilliant  debate  in  the 
Chamber  with  Jaures  in  which  the  philosophical  basis 
of  individualism  was  reviewed  with  great  skill  and 
some  of  the  social  questions  discussed.10 

Jaures  claimed  for  the  Socialists  a  dominant  share 
in  the  great  victory  won  by  the  friends  of  the  Republic 
during  the  Dreyfus  turmoil,  and  made  much  of  the 
multitudes  of  workingmen  to  whom  the  Republic  was 
now  under  great  obligation.  These  workingmen,  the 
proletariat,  were  the  force  now  to  be  dealt  with.  "  If 
you  really  wish  society  to  evolve,  if  you  wish  it  really 
to  be  transformed,  there  is  the  force  you  must  deal 
with,  and  that  you  must  neither  repress  nor  rebuff." 
The  parliamentary  experience  of  Socialism  Jaures 
passed  over  lightly ;  it  added  nothing  new,  he  thought, 
to  the  theory  or  the  arguments  of  the  Socialists. 

His  opponent,  however,  in  a  single  sentence  laid  bare 
the  weakness  of  the  Socialist's  logic :  "  The  truth  is 
that  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  two  differ- 
ent elements  of  the  social  organization,  between  the 
man  and  the  system."  Clemenceau  read  the  Socialists' 
program  upon  which  they  had  won  their  victory.  It 
embraced:  the  eight-hour  day,  giving  state  employees 
the  right  to  form  unions,  sickness  and  unemployment 
insurance;  a  progressive  income  tax;  ballot  reform 
(scrutin  de  liste)  and  proportional  representation,  and 
"  restoration  to  the  nation  of  the  monopolies  in  which 
capital  has  its  strongest  fortress." 

10  See  the  Contemporary  Review,  August,  1906,  for  a  brief 
abstract  of  this  debate. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       93 

"  What  a  terribly  bourgeois  program !  "  exclaimed 
Clemenceau.  "  M.  Jaures,  after  expounding  his  pro- 
gram, challenged  me  to  produce  my  own.  I  had  very 
great  difficulty  in  restraining  the  temptation  to  reply : 
'  You  know  my  program  very  well.  You  have  it  in 
your  pocket.  You  stole  it  from  me.' ' 

This  debate  was  significant,  not  in  what  was  said, 
but  in  the  fact  that  it  was  possible  to  enlist  the  Prime 
Minister,  the  cleverest  of  French  statesmen,  and 
Jaures,  the  greatest  of  French  orators,  in  a  discussion 
of  Socialism  from  the  tribune  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies.  The  whole  country  listened.  During 
this  brilliant  tilt  Clemenceau  taunted  Jaures  that  his 
Socialism  was  impractical,  a  dream.  "  You  are  a 
visionary,  I  am  a  realist;  you  have  dreams,  I  have 
facts."  Jaures  replied  with  great  fervor  that  he 
would  prove  to  the  people  of  France  that  Socialism  is 
not  impracticable  and  that  within  a  year  he  would 
produce  a  plan  for  the  new  social  order.  The  "  Uni- 
fied "  Socialist  Party,  built  up  largely  on  Jaures'  aban- 
donment of  his  former  colleague  and  his  earlier  lib- 
eral convictions,  may  be  considered  a  part  of  the  ful- 
filment of  this  promise.  The  other  part,  the  plans  and 
specifications  for  the  new  society,  is  not  yet  before  the 
world.  Its  introduction,  properly  its  prelude,  is  the 
volume  published  by  Jaures  in  1911,  L'Armee  Nou- 
velle,  containing  suggestions  for  reorganizing  the 
state  defense  along  lines  of  voluntary  militia  and 
cadets.11 

11  One  of  the  first  laws  passed  with  the  aid  of  the  Socialist 
vote  was  the  "  day  of  rest "  law,  commanding  one  day  of  the 
week  as  a  day  of  rest.  It  met  the  obstinate  opposition  of  the 
Conservatives.  The  operation  of  the  law  is  of  interest,  and 
instructive.  The  workmen  naturally  rejoiced  over  this  increased 
leisure.  The  employers,  on  the  other  hand,  found  themselves 


94   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

IV 

Clemenceau's  regime  was  destined  to  test  the  So- 
cialist policy  in  a  new  direction.  The  law  of  1884 
gave  state  employees  the  right  to  form  associations, 
but  not  to  federate  or  organize  syndicats.  A  great 
many  organizations  were  formed,  especially  among 
the  postal  employees  and  teachers.  They  were  mu- 
tual benefit  societies,  "  friendly  "  associations,  and  the 
government  recognized  them  to  the  extent  of  discuss- 
ing their  grievances  and  questions  of  mutual  interest 
with  them. 

Among  the  workmen  in  the  navy  yards  and  the 
national  match,  tobacco,  and  porcelain  works  similar 
organizations  existed.  The  Syndicalists  would  not  let 
the  matter  rest  there.  They  demanded  that  these  or- 
ganizations become  members  of  the  C.  G.  T.  (General 
Confederation  of  Workingmen).  The  government 
objected  because  that  would  give  the  men  the  right  to 
strike,  a  dangerous  anomaly  giving  to  the  state's  serv- 
ants the  right  to  make  government  nugatory.  This 
extreme  doctrine  found  ready  advocates  in  the  Cham- 
ber among  the  Socialists. 

In  March,  1909,  the  post-office  clerks  and  telegraph 
operators  went  out  on  strike.  The  government 
promptly  discharged  thirty-eight  of  the  ringleaders 
and  arrested  eight  of  the  strikers  in  Paris  on  the 
charge  of  resisting  the  police.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
days  over  800  out  of  15,000  employees  were  dis- 
charged. Soldiers  were  introduced  into  the  service, 

paying  wages  for  hours  in  which  no  service  was  rendered. 
They  lowered  the  wages ;  the  workmen  resisted.  Finally  the 
law  was  so  amended  as  virtually  to  annul  ks  effect,  in  certain 
trades.  The  Socialists  became  irritated  to  the  verge  of  break- 
ing their  entente  with  the  Radicals. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       95 

and  with  the  help  of  local  chambers  of  commerce  and 
other  civic  bodies  the  postal  service  was  renewed.  The 
strikers  were  then  willing  to  make  terms.  They  stip- 
ulated that  the  dismissed  employees  be  reinstated  and 
that  M.  Simyan,  the  Under-Secretary  of  Posts  and 
Telegraphs,  be  dismissed.  The  first  request  was  con- 
ceded, the  second  was  denied.  The  ostensible  cause  of 
the  strike  had  been  the  attitude  of  the  under-secretary ; 
the  men  asserted  that  he  was  arbitrary  and  had  im- 
posed petty  political  exactions  upon  them.  The  gov- 
ernment refused  to  allow  the  men  to  dictate  its  affairs, 
the  under-secretary  remained,  and  the  men  went  back 
to  work. 

The  Socialists  censured  the  government  for  not 
being  considerate  with  the  men,  and  placed  the  entire 
blame  upon  the  ministry  for  refusing  the  national  em- 
ployees a  right  to  organize  as  other  workmen.  To 
this  Simyan  replied :  "  We  are  in  the  presence  of  an 
organized  revolutionary  agitation  .  .  .  this  is  black- 
mail by  strike."  The  Minister  of  Public  Works  said: 
"  Over  our  heads  these  officials  have  revolted  against 
you  and  against  the  entire  nation.  These  are  serious 
hours  when  the  government  needs  perfect  facilities  of 
communication  with  its  ambassadors  and  consuls  [the 
Balkan  question  was  in  the  pot],  and  in  such  hours  a 
strike  is  an  attack  upon  the  national  sovereignty.  In 
these  circumstances  I  cannot  re-enter  into  negotiations 
with  the  general  postal  association.  If  I  did  so  that 
would  mean  abdication." 12  The  Socialist  deputies 
voted  against  the  government's  resolution  "  not  to  tol- 
erate strikes  of  functionaries." 

The  general  strike  committee  was  not  discharged 
when  the  men  returned  to  work.  When  it  became 
12  Proceedings  Chamber  of  Deputies,  March  19,  19x19. 


96 

evident  that  the  government  did  not  intend  to  ask  the 
under-secretary  for  his  resignation  the  post-office  em- 
ployees organized  a  trade  union,  unauthorized  by  law. 
The  government  refused  to  meet  representatives  of 
this  union,  on  the  ground  that  state  employees  had 
organized  for  one  purpose  only,  namely,  to  have  the 
right  to  strike,  and  the  government  would  not  concede 
that  right. 

On  May  12  a  second  general  post-office  strike  was 
called.  The  government  immediately  dismissed  over 
two  hundred  of  the  strikers.  The  Socialists  in  the 
Chamber  began  a  demonstration  against  the  govern- 
ment. One  of  their  number  started  the  "  Interna- 
tionale," the  Socialist  war-song.  After  the  first  blush 
of  indignation  had  passed,  the  whole  Chamber  sprang 
to  its  feet,  there  were  shouts  of  protest,  a  Re- 
publican started  the  Marseillaise,  and  the  two  revo- 
lutionary hymns,  bourgeois  and  proletarian,  were 
blended  for  the  first  time  in  a  parliamentary  chamber. 

Now  the  general  confederation  of  labor  (C.  G.  T.) 
took  charge  of  the  strike,  and  soon  plots  began  to 
be  carried  out  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  There 
were  indications  of  violence  everywhere.  The  gen- 
eral committee  of  the  C.  G.  T.  declared  a  general 
strike.  The  situation  threatened  to  become  serious, 
but  the  soldiers  distributed  over  the  affected  territory 
had  a  tranquilizing  effect.  Men  in  other  trades  were 
reluctant  to  follow  the  orders  of  the  committee.  A 
few  electric  workers  succeeded  in  cutting  some  wires 
in  Paris,  leaving  the  city  in  darkness  a  few  hours. 
There  were  desultory  acts  of  sabotage,  but  there  was 
more  terror  than  enthusiasm,  and  in  two  days  the 
general  strike  was  over.13 

"During   this   agitation   the   teachers   of   the   public   schools, 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       97 

Here  was  an  attempt  to  place  the  800,000  French 
state  employees  into  the  revolutionary  current  of  the 
C.  G.  T.  The  real  question  at  issue  was  this:  Is 
striking  an  act  of  mutiny?  Barthou,  a  member  of  the 
ministry,  said  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  that  "  the 
more  solemnly  you  denounce  the  strike  as  a  crime 
against  the  state,  the  greater  the  victory  of  the  Syn- 
dicalists." The  Syndicalist  journal,  Le  Voix  du 
Peuple,  the  day  after  the  first  strike  was  settled  pro- 
claimed "  the  victory  which  our  comrades  of  the  pos- 
tal proletariat  have  won  over  their  employer  the 
state."  This,  they  said,  showed  that  the  state  con- 
ceded the  main  contention  of  Syndicalism — that  it  is 
not  different  from  a  private  employer.  And  the 
Syndicalists  gloried  in  the  fact  that  the  government, 
instead  of  treating  the  strikers  as  mutineers,  par- 
leyed with  them  and  reinstated  them. 

Clemenceau  brought  in  a  bill  designed  to  relieve 
the  situation  by  fixing  the  status  of  the  state  em- 
ployees. The  men  were  to  be  given  the  right  of  asso- 
ciation for  "  professional  "  purposes  only, — i.e.,  for 
improving  their  efficiency, — but  were  absolutely  pro- 
hibited from  striking  and  from  joining  other  unions. 
A  comprehensive  civil-service  reform  was  embodied 
in  the  bill,  aimed  to  prevent  the  men  from  becoming 
victims  of  political  abuse. 

Before  the  bill  could  be  thoroughly  considered  the 
Clemenceau  ministry  fell  and  a  new  Prime  Minister 
was  called  to  the  helm.  This  was  none  other  than 
Aristide  Briand,  the  first  Socialist  Prime  Minister  in 

who  had  formed  a  great  number  of  associations,  joined  in  the 
demand  of  the  Syndicalists.  One  of  their  number  who  had  signed 
a  vitriolic  circular  was  dismissed  by  M.  Briand,  the  Minister  of 
Education,  and  for  a  time  a  strike  of  schoolmasters  was  threat- 
ened, but  it  did  not  materialize. 


98    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

European  history.  His  former  comrades  had  long 
before  this  disowned  him,  and  he  was  soon  to  partici- 
pate in  events  that  would  forever  alienate  them.  He 
had  been  a  furious  Socialist,  an  anti-militarist,  and 
defender  of  the  general  strike.  In  the  Socialist  con- 
gress at  Paris,  1899,  he  said:  "  The  general  strike  has 
the  seductive  advantage  that  it  is  nothing  but  the 
practice  of  an  intangible  right.  It  is  a  revolution 
which  arises  within  the  law.  The  workingman  re- 
fuses to  carry  the  yoke  of  misery  any  farther  and 
begins  the  revolution  in  the  field  of  his  legal  rights. 
The  illegality  must  begin  with  the  capitalist  class, 
if  it  allows  itself  to  be  provoked  into  destroying  a 
right  which  they  themselves  have  professed  to  be 
holy."  At  the  same  meeting  he  expressed  himself 
on  the  soldiery  as  follows :  "  If  the  command  to  fire 
is  given,  if  the  officers  are  stubborn  enough  to  try 
to  force  the  soldiers  against  their  will,  then  the  guns 
might  be  fired,  but  perhaps  not  in  the  direction  the 
officers  thought."  Briand  repeated  these  sentiments 
at  the  Amsterdam  congress  in  1903. 

This  was  the  man  whom  destiny  had  chosen  to  lead 
the  French  government  against  the  organized  revolt  of 
government  employees. 

On  assuming  the  premiership  he  announced  his 
program : 

1.  Parliamentary   and    electoral    reform,    he    said, 
were  of  the  first  necessity,   but  he  deemed   it  best 
to    experiment    with    the    new    methods    of    ballot- 
ing locally   before  adopting  a  national  system  of  re- 
form. 

2.  A  graduated  income  tax. 

3.  Fixing  the  legal  status  of  state  servants. 

4.  Old-age  pension. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE       99 

October  10,  1910,  the  men  employed  on  the  North- 
ern Railway  went  out  on  strike.  Before  they  did 
so  they  had  a  conference  with  the  Prime  Minister  and 
the  Minister  of  Public  Works,  Millerand,  requesting 
that  they  try  to  arrange  a  meeting  between  the  men 
and  the  officials  of  the  railway.  The  ministry  offered 
its  services  to  the  railway  directors,  but  they  refused 
to  meet  the  strikers,  although  Briand  had  volunteered 
to  preside  at  such  a  meeting.  The  Prime  Minister  told 
the  men  firmly  that  the  government  could  not  tolerate 
a  suspension  of  railway  service,  that  it  would  exert 
its  authority  to  prevent  it,  and  that  it  relied  on  the 
common  sense  and  patriotism  of  the  men  to  prevent  it. 

However,  the  strike  spread  to  other  lines,  including 
the  state  railway.  The  men's  demands  were  three:  i. 
A  minimum  wage  of  five  francs  a  day.  2.  A  revision 
of  the  railway  pension  act  making  the  pensions  re- 
troactive. 3.  A  weekly  day  of  rest — the  men  had 
been  excluded  from  the  "  rest  day  "  act  when  it  was 
passed. 

Briand  at  once  characterized  the  strike  as  political 
in  motive  and  revolutionary  in  character.  In  his 
mind  the  strike  ceased  to  be  merely  a  question  of  the 
right  to  strike,  but  was  a  criminal  outbreak,  an  act 
of  rebellion  planned  by  a  few  revolutionary  leaders 
and  submitted  to  by  the  rank  and  file  without  their 
even  voting  on  the  question.  He  was  greatly  incensed 
at  the  sudden  calling  out  of  the  men  after  the  govern- 
ment had  received  their  representatives,  and  especially 
since  the  railway  companies  had  granted  their  request 
for  a  minimum  wage  and  had  taken  under  advisement 
the  other  demands  of  the  men. 

Five  of  the  ringleaders  were  promptly  arrested 
under  dramatic  circumstances.  They  were  attending 


ioo    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

a  meeting  in  the  office  of  L'Humanite,^  attended  by 
Jaures  and  Vaillant  and  other  leaders  of  the  party. 
They  were  arrested  under  color  of  Sections  17  and 
18  of  the  law  of  1845  dealing  with  railway  traffic.15 

This  law  proved  a  powerful  factor  in  checking  the 
strike.  Arrests  were  made  far  and  near.  The  en- 
ergetic Prime  Minister  did  not  wait  for  acts  of  vio- 
lence; he  anticipated  them.  Briand  called  out  the 
reserves  (militia),  and  nearly  all  of  the  strikers  were 
compelled  to  put  on  the  uniform.  If  they  refused 
they  were  guilty  of  a  serious  offense;  if  they  obeyed 
they  could  no  longer  strike. 

The  railways  were  run  as  in  times  of  war,  under 
military  rigor.  In  spite  of  these  precautions  acts  of 
violence  occurred,  and  sabotage  was  reported  from 
various  railway  centers.16 

In  one  week  the  soldiery,  under  the  determined 
minister,  had  done  its  work.  The  strike  was  over. 
The  government  refused  to  reinstate  about  2,000  men 
employed  on  the  state  railway. 

The  strike  committee  issued  a  manifesto  excusing 
the  failure  of  the  strike,  assuming  the  full  responsi- 
bility for  calling  it,  and  affirming  that  the  government 
had  "  lowered  itself  to  the  level  of  the  most  barbarous 
employer." 

14  L'Humanite  is  the  leading  Socialist  daily  of  Paris.  Briand 
had  written  editorials  for  it  in  his  "  red "  days. 

11  These  sections  declare  that  the  employment,  or  abetting  or 
instigating  the  employment,  of  any  means  of  stopping  or  im- 
peding railway  traffic  is  a  crime ;  and  if  it  has  been  planned  at 
a  seditious  meeting,  the  instigators  are  as  liable  to  punishment 
as  the  authors  of  the  crime,  even  if  they  did  not  intend  to  pro- 
voke the  destruction  of  railway  property.  The  penalties  imposed 
are  very  severe. 

18  Placards  displayed  the  bitterness  of  the  men.  "  For  our 
vengeance  Briand  will  suffice "  was  read  on  the  walls  under 
flaming  posters  that  quoted  fiery  sentences  from  Briand's  earlier 
speeches. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE     101 

The  strike  was  hastily  conceived,  never  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  public,  and  the  destruction  of  property 
was  deplored  even  by  the  labor  unions,  which,  when 
it  was  all  over,  passed  resolutions  condemning  sabot- 
age. The  leaders  of  the  Syndicalists,  the  plotters  of 
the  strike,  no  doubt  believed  that  the  time  was  oppor- 
tune. The  Prime  Minister  and  two  of  his  cabinet, 
Viviani  and  Millerand,  were  Socialists,  and  a  third 
member,  Barthou,  was  a  Radical  who  had  as  a  private 
member  of  the  Chamber,  a  short  time  before  his  ap- 
pointment to  the  cabinet,  vigorously  defended  the  rail- 
way men's  "  right  to  strike."  But  official  responsi- 
bility had  its  usual  effect.17 

Now  began  a  series  of  dramatic  events  in  the 
Chamber.  The  united  Socialists  maintained  that  the 
men  had  a  legal  right  to  strike  and  that  the  govern- 
ment had  denied  to  French  citizens  their  legal  privi- 
leges. Briand  replied  (October  25)  that  the  strike 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  labor  problem.  The  gov- 
ernment had  been  confronted  with  "  an  enterprise 
designed  to  ruin  the  country,  an  anarchistic  movement 
with  civil  war  for  its  aim,  and  violence  and  organized 
destruction  for  its  method  " ;  and  he  had  treated  it  as 
a  rebellion,  not  as  a  strike.  The  government,  he  said, 
had  evidence  of  a  well-laid  plot  for  sabotage;  and  the 
Syndicalist  idea  of  liberty  he  characterized  as  a 
"  hideous  figure  of  license." 

Millerand  (October  27)  characterized  the  strike  as 
a  "  criminal  enterprise,"  and  the  saboteurs  as  "  crim- 
inals "  guilty  of  "  a  revolutionary  mobilization  with  a 

17  Viviani,  Minister  of  Justice,  resigned  soon  after  the  close 
of  the  strike.  He  did  not  agree  with  Briand  in  his  efforts  to 
pass  a  law  making  all  railway  strikes  illegal.  He  said  as  long 
as  railways  were  private  property  men  had  the  right  to  strike, 
but  not  to  destroy  property. 


102    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

political  object."  For  the  Socialists  Bouveri,  a  miner, 
replied.  He  defended  bomb-throwing  and  sabotage; 
asked  the  Minister  of  War  if,  in  case  of  invasion  by 
a  foreign  foe,  he  would  not  blow  up  the  bridges ;  and 
said  the  strikers  were  engaged  in  a  social  war  and 
had  the  same  excuse  for  destroying  property. 

The  climax  of  the  debate  came  October  29,  when 
Briand,  turning  to  the  Socialists,  said :  "  I  am  going 
to  tell  you  something  that  will  make  you  jump  (que 
vous  faire  bondir).  If  the  government  had  not  found 
in  the  law  that  which  enabled  it  to  remain  master  of 
the  frontiers  of  France  and  master  of  its  railways, 
which  are  the  indispensable  instruments  of  the  na- 
tional defense;  if,  in  a  word,  the  government  had 
found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  illegality,  it  would 
have  done  so." 

No  words  can  describe  the  disorder  of  the  scene  that 
followed  this  challenge.  Cries  of  "  Dictator !  "  "  Re- 
sign !  "  were  mingled  with  catcalls  and  hisses.  Finally 
Jaures  was  heard  in  bitter  rebuke  of  his  former  com- 
rade. Viviani  answered  Jaures;  they  had  fought  to- 
gether the  battles  of  the  workingman  and  would  do 
so  still  "  if  Socialism  had  not  adopted  the  methods  of 
sabotage,  of  anti-patriotism,  and  of  anarchy." 

A  few  weeks  later  Briand  and  his  cabinet  resigned, 
although  sustained  by  a  majority  of  the  Chamber. 
But  President  Fallieres  immediately  requested  the 
dauntless  Prime  Minister  to  form  a  new  cabinet.  In 
his  new  program  he  included  measures  that  would 
greatly  strengthen  the  arms  of  the  government  in 
times  of  strikes,  punishing  sabotage  by  heavy  fines 
and  penalties,  penalizing  the  public  railway  servant 
for  striking,  and  contemplating  an  elaborate  system 
of  conciliation  boards  patterned  after  Millerand's  plan. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      103 

These  rigorous  suggestions  increased  the  flame  of 
hatred  against  him,  and  his  life  was  threatened. 
Nothing  daunted,  he  proceeded  in  his  warfare  against 
the  C.  G.  T.,  which  he  denounced  as  a  handful  of 
plotters  exercising  a  wicked  tyranny  over  Socialists 
and  workingmen.  Finally,  February  27,  1911,  he  re- 
signed, refusing  to  hold  office  by  the  sufferance  of  the 
reactionary  Right.  The  Socialists  voted  with  their 
enemies  to  dethrone  their  first  Premier,  whom  they 
considered  a  traitor  to  the  course.18 

So  ended  one  of  the  most  significant  episodes  of 
modern  political  history.  Every  government,  espe- 
cially every  democratic  government,  will  within  the 
next  few  decades  he  compelled  to  meet  the  railway 
problem  and  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  its  state  servants. 

Two  important  details  in  the  Briand  affair  are  of 
especial  interest. 

First,  the  Prime  Minister's  attempt  to  project  the 
authority  of  the  state  into  the  contract  relations  of 
the  railway  employees  and  the  companies.  Instead 
of  hostility,  Briand's  plan  might  well  have  deserved 
the  support  of  the  Socialists.  For  he  was  expanding 
the  functions  of  the  state,  was  enlisting  the  power 
of  society  in  behalf  of  a  contract  that  is  of  universal 
interest. 

Secondly,  Briand's  bill  making  it  unlawful  for  a 
railway  servant  to  strike  was  quite  as  revolutionary 
as  the  C.  G.  T.'s  contention  that  the  state  had  no 

18  Before  his  resignation,  the  old-age  pension  bill  had  passed  the 
Senate  and  thus  became  a  law.  The  Socialists  supported  the 
bill ;  but  Guesde  voted  against  it  in  spite  of  his  party's  in- 
structions, because  labor  was  charged  with  contributing  to  the 
fund.  The  syndicalists  were  also  violently  opposed  to  it  be- 
cause they  believe  the  amount  of  the  pension  is  too  small. 


104    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

right  to  interfere.  Here,  too,  Briand  was  the  Social- 
ist and  the  Socialists  were  the  individualists;  the  one 
recognized  the  paramount  interests  of  society,  the 
other  saw  only  the  interests  of  the  individual  worker. 
Put  to  this  test,  French  Socialism  failed  as  signally 
in  theory  as  the  violence,  sabotage,  and  insubordina- 
tion of  the  C.  G.  T.  failed  in  practice.19 


Who  were  these  revolutionary  labor  leaders,  this 
small  handful  of  plotters  to  whom  Briand  constantly 
alluded  ? 20  In  order  to  understand  the  Socialist 
movement  in  any  country,  both  politically  and  indus- 
trially, it  is  necessary  to  understand  the  organization 
of  labor.  Socialism  began  as  a  class  movement,  and 
in  every  country  it  is  endeavoring  to  capture  the  labor 
organizations.21 

19  When  in  January,  1912,  M.  Poincare  was  appointed  Prime 
Minister,  he  promptly  invited  Briand  into  his  cabinet  as  vice- 
president  and  Millerand  as  Minister  of  War. 

20  The  co-operative  movement  is  spreading  gradually  through- 
out France.    There  are  two  kinds  of  societies — the  Socialist  and 
the  independent.    In  1896  there  were  202  co-operative  productive 
societies.    In  1907  there  were  362.     The  following  figures  show 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  co-operative  stores :  1902 — 1,641 ; 
1903 — 1,683;   1906 — 1,994;   IO-O7 — 2,166. 

21  The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  Min- 
ister of  Labor,  shows  the  growth  of  the  labor-union  movement : 

Year    Number  of    Number  of     Year    Number  of    Number  of 
Unions        Members  Unions         Members 


1885 

221 

1898 

2,324 

437,739 

280 

1899 

2,36l 

419,761 

1887 

SOI 

I9OO 

2,685 

491,647 

1888 

*J*^* 

725 

I9OI 

3,287 

588,832 

1889 

821 

I9O2 

^.679 

614.17^ 

*.*-r^ry 

1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
I89S 
1896 

I,  OO6 
1,250 

1,589 
1,926 
2,178 
2,l63 
2,243 

139,692 
205,152 
288,770 
402,125 
403,430 
419,781 
422,777 

1003 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
I908 

«j»v/  y 

3,934 
4,227 
4,625 
4,857 

5,322 

5,524 

•"•'"fj  •*•  /  ij 

643,757 
715,576 
78i,344 
836,134 
896,012 
957,102 

THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE     105 

In  no  two  countries  are  the  relations  quite  the 
same.  In  the  United  States  the  unions  have  tradi- 
tionally kept  out  of  politics  altogether.  In  Great 
Britain  they  refused  to  be  busied  with  politics  until 
a  few  years  ago,  when  the  Labor  Party  was  organized. 
Since  then  a  number  of  union  men  have  identified 
themselves  rather  loosely  with  Socialism.  In  Ger- 
many there  is  the  closest  co-operation  between  the 
party  and  the  unions,  but  not  any  organic  unity.  In 
Belgium  the  political  and  economic  organizations  are 
virtually  merged. 

In  France  the  most  interesting  development  has 
taken  place.  From  the  Revolution  until  1864  no  labor 
organizations  were  allowed.  The  National  Assembly 
abolished  all  the  trade  guilds  and  corporations.  The 
Loi  le  Chappelier  forbade  unions  of  workers  and  of 
masters,  and  the  Code  Napoleon  imposed  a  penalty 
of  imprisonment  on  those  engaging  in  unlawful 
combinations.  In  1864  the  criminal  laws  were  re- 
vised, and  unions  of  twenty  members  were  allowed. 
The  law  of  1884  left  the  way  untrammeled  for  their 
development.22 

Within  a  few  years  unions  were  formed  every- 
where.23 In  1886  the  Guesdists  organized  the  Na- 
tional Federation  of  Trade  Unions,  a  Socialist  body 
of  workers  subordinated  to  the  Workingman's  Party. 
Soon  thereafter  the  Municipal  Socialists,  the  Brous- 
sists,  founded  the  Paris  Labor  Exchange,  built  a  large 
clubhouse  for  it,  and  succeeded  in  getting  an  appro- 
priation of  20,000  francs  a  year  from  the  city  for 

22 See  Journal  of  Political  Economy,  March,  1909,  for  a  compre- 
hensive article  on  French  labor  unions  by  O.  D.  SKELTON. 

23  From  the  beginning  there  were  two  kinds  of  unions,  named 
after  the  color  of  their  membership  cards.  The  "  yellows  "  are 
those  pursuing  a  policy  of  peace,  and  the  "  reds "  are  the 
militants. 


io6    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

its  maintenance.  Within  ten  years  about  fifty  of  these 
exchanges  were  formed  in  as  many  cities,  and  about 
seventy  per  cent,  of  the  union  members  belonged  to 
them.  The  object  of  these  exchanges  was  educational 
and  benevolent.  But  they  were  soon  made  the  hotbeds 
of  Socialistic  politics.  In  1892  they  were  all  federated 
in  the  Federation  of  Labor  Exchanges  (Federation  du 
Bourse  du  Travail). 

In  1895  Guesde's  political  adjunct,  the  National 
Federation  of  Trade  Unions,  became  extinct.  The 
Blanquists  then  organized  a  new  federation,  the  noto- 
rious General  Confederation  of  Labor  (Confederation 
Generale  du  Travail),  commonly  called  the  C.  G.  T. 
These  two  bodies  were  bitter  rivals,  after  the  French 
fashion,  until,  in  1902,  they  amalgamated,  retaining 
the  name  C.  G.  T.24  The  organization  is  dual,  re- 
taining the  benevolent  activities  of  the  local  exchanges 
and  the  trade  activities  of  the  local  unions.  These 
activities  are  federated  into  national  councils.  The 
union  of  these  councils  forms  the  central  governing 
body  of  C.  G.  T.  The  organization  allows  a  great 
deal  of  local  autonomy,  but  the  central  control  is 
none  the  less  effective.  In  1907  the  C.  G.  T.  claimed 
350,000  members,  in  1911  it  reported  600,000. 

This  body  of  workmen  is  known  for  its  violence. 
Within  its  ranks  has  spread  the  doctrine  known  as 
revolutionary  Syndicalism,  a  resurrection  of  the  spirit 
of  Proudhonism  in  the  body  of  labor  unionism. 
Briefly  stated,  it  is  class  war  in  its  most  violent  form 

**The  following  figures  show  the  increase  of  strikes  since  the 
organization  of  the  C.  G.  T. : 

Years        Average    Average    Average  Number 
Number    Number          of  Days  Idle 
of  Strikes  of  Strikers 

1890-1898        379          7i,96i         1,163,478 
1899-1907        855        214,660        3,992,976 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      107 

without  the  aid  of  parliaments  and  politics;  with  the 
enginery  of  the  general  strike,  and  the  spirit  of  uni- 
versal upheaval  and  anarchy.  It  is  the  most  effective 
outbreak  of  Anarchism  since  the  days  of  Bakunin. 

The  intellectual  revival  of  the  doctrine  of  violence 
may  be  dated  from  the  appearance  of  Georges  Sorel's 
book,  The  Socialist  Future  of  Trade  Unions,  in  1897, 
and  the  culmination  of  the  tide  in  his  volume  Reflec- 
tions upon  Violence,  in  1908. 

For  a  movement  so  young  Syndicalism  has  had  a 
peculiarly  expansive  literature,  written  by  professors 
and  journalists  of  the  bourgeois  class,  who  live  on 
respectable  streets,  receive  you  in  comfortable  draw- 
ing-rooms, and  from  their  upholstered  ease  display  a 
fine  zeal  for  the  oppressed  proletariat.25 

It  is  not  easy  to  classify  Syndicalism,  for  it  refuses 
to  be  called  Anarchism,  repudiates  the  leadership  of 
Socialism,  and  scorns  to  be  merely  trade-unionism. 
The  following  are  its  principal  characteristics: 

i.  It  is  disheartened  with  Socialism  because,  it  says, 
Socialists  have  lost  their  ideals  in  the  race  for  political 
power.  Law-making  is  useless,  because  no  laws  can 
emancipate  the  workingmen.  It  therefore  despises 
governments  and  abjures  parliaments.  But  its  ideals 
are  Socialistic ;  it  believes  "  in  reorganizing  society 
on  a  communistic  basis,  so  that,  with  a  minimum  of 
productive  effort,  the  maximum  of  well-being  will  be 
obtained."  2<J 

"The  doctrines  of  Syndicalism  may  be  found  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Georges  Sorel.  Also  in  the  following:  POUGET,  Les 
Bases  du  Syndicalisme;  GRIFFUELHS,  L 'Action  Syndicaliste,  and 
Syndicalisme  et  Socialisme;  POUGET,  La  Parti  du  Travail; 
POTAUD  and  POUGET,  Comment  nous  ferons  la  Revolution;  PAUL 
Louis,  Syndicalisme  centre  I'titat. 

"  POUGET,  The  Basis  of  Trade  Unionism,  a  pamphlet  issued  in 
1908. 


io8    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

2.  But  repudiating  governments   and  parliaments, 
they  say,  does  not  make  them  Anarchists.     Syndical- 
ists believe  in  local  or  communal  government.     Their 
state  is  a  glorified  trade  union  whose  activities  are 
confined  to  economic  functions,  their  nation  is  a  collec- 
tion of  federated  communal  trade  societies.     When 
I  went  among  them  they  were  especially  solicitous  that 
they  should  not  be  regarded  as  "  mere  Anarchists." 

3.  Syndicalism    is    not    trade-unionism    pure    and 
simple,  because  its  method  is  violence  and  its  ideal 
the  industrial  unit,  not  the  trade  or  craft  unit.     The 
weapon  of  Syndicalism  is  the  general  strike.     A  cir- 
cular issued  by  the  executive  committee  in  1898  de- 
fined the  general  strike  as  "  the  cessation  of  work, 
which  would  place  the  country  in  the  rigor  of  death, 
whose  terrible  and  incalculable  consequences   would 
force  the  government  to   capitulate  at  once.     If   it 
refused,  the  proletariat,  in  revolt   from  one  end  of 
France  to  the  other,   would  be  able  to  compel   it." 
Sorel  says  that  "  revolutionary  Syndicalism  nourishes 
in  the  masses  the  desire  to  strike,  and  it  can  thrive 
only  in  places  where  great  strikes,  occupied  with  acts 
of  violence,  have  taken  place."  2T    The  strike  committee 
of  the  C.  G.  T.  in  1899  proclaimed  the  general  strike 
as    "  the   only   practical   method   through   which   the 
working  class  can  fully  liberate  itself  from  the  cap- 
italistic and  governmental  yoke."     The  general  strike 
includes  the  boycott,  sabotage,  and  all  kindred  forms 
of  violence.28 

4.  Syndicalism  revives  the  old  revolutionary  meth- 
ods of  conspiracy,  of  a  dominant  minority  swinging 

87  Reflexions  sur  la  Violence. 

18  See  YVETOT,  A  B  C  du  Syndicalisme,  Chap.  V.    This  pamphlet 
is  issued  by  the  C.  G.  T. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      109 

the  masses  into  line ;  "  a  conscious  minority,  which, 
through  its  example,  sets  the  masses  in  motion  and 
drives  them  on."  29  There  are  plots,  underground 
manceuvers,  and  sudden  outbursts.  An  air  of  mystery 
pervades  their  spectacular  uprisings.  In  order  to  ac- 
complish their  purpose  there  must  be  a  solidarity  of 
labor.  But  this  unity  is  the  result  of  the  energy  of 
the  "  conscious  few,"  not  of  the  assertive  many. 

5.  Finally,  Syndicalism  proclaims  that  democracy  is 
a  "  fraud  "  perpetrated  upon  the  workingmen  by  the 
property-owning  bourgeois ;  representative  government 
and  majority  rule  is  to  them  merely  a  polite  form  of 
tyranny,  and  patriotism  a  farce.  Potaud  says :  "  Patri- 
otism can  only  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  all  patriots 
without  distinction  own  a  part  of  the  social  property, 
and  nothing  is  more  absurd  than  a  patriot  without  a 
patrimony." 

"  We  workingmen  will  have  none  of  these  little 
fatherlands !  Our  country  is  the  international  world !  " 
cried  Yvetot  to  the  post-office  strikers  in  Paris. 

They  regard  the  soldiers  with  enmity.  At  the  na- 
tional congress  at  Amiens,  1906,  they  resolved  that 
the  "  anti-military  and  anti-patriotic  propaganda 
should  be  promulgated  with  the  greatest  zeal  and 
audacity."  30 

Syndicalism  is  the  extreme  pessimism  of  the  labor- 
ing class.  It  reached  its  height  about  1907-1908. 

"Statement  of  Strike  Committee  C.  G.  T.,  1899. 

"In  every  state,  the  army  is  for  the  property  owner;  in 
every  European  conflict,  the  working  class  is  duped  and  sacri- 
ficed for  the  benefit  of  the  governing  class,  the  bourgeoisie,  and 
the  parasites.  Therefore  the  XVth  Congress  approves  and  ex- 
tols every  action  of  the  anti-military  and  anti-patriotic  propa- 
ganda, even  though  it  only  compromises  the  situation  of  all 
classes  and  all  political  parties."  See  YVETOT,  A  B  C  du  Syndi- 
calism e,  p,  84. 


i  io    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Portions  of  France  were  terrorized,  more  by  its  ex- 
travagant language  than  by  its  overt  acts.  There  was 
no  limit  to  their  superlatives.  "  Rip  up  the  bour- 
geois !  "  "  Turn  your  rifles  on  your  officers !  "  "  Cut 
buttonholes  in  the  skins  of  the  bourgeois ! "  were  fa- 
miliar battle-cries.  There  was  so  much  talk  about 
putting  vitriol  into  coffee,  ground  glass  into  bread, 
pulling  the  fire-plug  out  of  engines,  that  finally  lan- 
guage came  to  mean  nothing. 

The  "  new  commune  "  thought  it  was  coming  into 
reality  with  the  post-office  and  railway  strikes.  We 
have  seen  how  these  outbreaks  were  met  by  a  Radical 
government.  Since  then  their  ardor  has  cooled,  and 
their  adjectives  grown  flabby.  They  are  now  devoting 
themselves  to  organization. 

Anti-militarism  does  not  mean  merely  opposition 
to  standing  armies.  All  Socialists  are  opposed  to 
the  maintenance  of  armaments.  Anti-militarism  is 
opposition  to  all  force  used  by  the  state  to  assert  its 
sovereignty.  This  includes  the  police  and  constabu- 
lary as  well  as  the  army,  and  courts  and  parliaments 
as  well  as  the  navy.  Since  soldiers  and  policemen 
are  servants  of  the  state,  and  since  the  state  is  the 
expression  of  nationalism,  the  anti-militarist  concludes 
that  his  supreme  enemy  is  the  nation,  the  master  of 
the  soldier.  Anti-militarism  is  the  forerunner  of 
anti-patriotism. 

In  1906  this  doctrine  was  so  rampant  that,  on 
May  Day,  an  uprising  was  feared  in  Paris.  A 
prophet  had  arisen,  proclaiming  the  most  extreme 
doctrines  of  anti-patriotism.  This  was  Gustave  Herve, 
a  teacher  of  history  from  Auxerre.  He  had  spoken 
the  suitable  word,  and  became  famous  overnight : 
"The  French  flag  arose  from  dirt!";  and  to  the 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      in 

peasantry  he  shouted,  "  Plant  your  country's  flag  in 
the  barnyard  dung-heaps ! "  He  came  to  Paris  and 
started  a  daily  paper,  La  Guerre  Sociale.  Syndicalists 
and  Socialists  flocked  to  his  standard,  and  even 
Jaures  was  compelled  to  acknowledge  his  influence.31 
Herve  has  a  simple  remedy  for  militarism :  "  The 
way  to  stop  war  is  to  refuse  to  fight."  He  exhorts 
his  fellow-Socialists  to  join  the  army,  but  fire  on  their 
commanders,  not  on  their  comrades.  He  was  arrested 
several  times  for  these  utterances  and  the  overt  acts 
that  they  aroused.  Some  years  ago  a  Parisian  work- 
ingman  was  arrested  for  an  offense  against  public 
morals.  He  protested  his  innocence  and,  when  re- 
leased, in  revenge  killed  a  policeman.  He  was 
promptly  executed.  Herve  used  the  occasion  for  an 
onslaught  upon  the  government  in  his  paper.  He 
said :  "  If  the  working  class  would  display  one-tenth 
of  the  energy  that  this  workman  displayed,  the  social 
revolution  would  not  be  long  in  coming."  For  his  im- 
prudence he  was  imprisoned  for  a  term  of  four  years.32 

M  Herve  has  written  a  history  of  France  that  has  had  con- 
siderable vogue  as  a  text-book  in  the  public  schools.  He  begins 
with  the  significant  year  1789;  glorifies  the  violence,  and  praises 
the  Socialistic  manifestations  and  the  heroism  of  the  revolution- 
ists, that  have  made  the  past  century  one  of  turmoil  and  per- 
petual commotion.  This  book  is  a  sample  of  the  reading  given  into 
the  hands  of  the  children  of  the  Republic.  I  was  told,  upon 
careful  inquiry,  that  a  large  number  of  the  primary  and  sec- 
ondary school  teachers  are  Socialists.  Thiers,  before  he  became 
President,  while  still  a  functionary  of  monarchy,  objected  to  the 
establishment  of  government  schools  in  every  village,  because, 
he  said,  he  did  not  want  "  a  red  priest  of  Socialism  in  every 
town."  To-day  he  would  find  these  "  red  priests  "  everywhere. 
They  have  even  organized  syndicats  and  joined  the  C.  G.  T. 

82  When  I  called  upon  him  in  the  Prison  Sante  he  told  me  that 
he  was  as  sincerely  opposed  to  military  measures  as  ever ;  but 
that  it  would  be  a  long  time  before  the  people  would  regard  all 
mankind,  rather  than  a  single  ethnic  group,  as  the  object  of 
their  patriotism.  Pointing  to  the  grim  walls  of  his  prison,  he 
said,  'Vive  la  Republique!  Vive  la  Liberte!" 


ii2    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

His  influence  is  waning,  but  the  words  he  and  his 
following  have  planted  in  the  hearts  of  the  conscripts 
may  bear  some  strange  fruit.83 


VI 

While  the  French  Socialists  have  been  prolific  in 
the  developing  of  factions  and  theories,  they  have 
been  slow  at  achieving  practical  results.  As  early  as 
1887  they  acquired  considerable  power  in  Paris.  They 
contented  themselves  with  establishing  a  labor  ex- 
change and  extending  a  few  municipal  charities. 

The  local  program,  as  outlined  at  Lyons,  included : 
the  feeding  of  school  children;  an  eight-hour  day  and 
a  fixed  minimum  wage  for  municipal  employees;  the 
abolition  of  the  "  octroi " ;  sanitary  regulations  for 
workshops  and  factories;  abolition  of  private  employ- 
ment bureaus;  establishment  of  homes  for  the  aged; 
maternity  hospitals;  free  medical  attendance  for  the 
poor;  free  public  baths;  sanitaria  for  children  of 
workmen;  free  legal  advice  for  workingmen;  pensions 
for  municipal  employees;  and  the  publication  of  a 
municipal  bulletin  giving  record  of  all  the  votes  cast 
by  the  councilors.34 

In  1892  a  number  of  important  cities  were  won 
by  the  Socialists,  and  in  September  of  that  year  the 
first  convention  of  Socialist  municipal  councilors  was 
held  at  Saint-Ouen.  The  discussions  were  filled  with 
revolutionary  phraseology.  In  a  few  years  the  ideas 
of,  violence  were  discarded  for  more  practical  issues. 
In  1895,  when  the  municipal  convention  met  at  Paris, 

"  Syndicalism  and  anti-militarism  have  spread  to  Spain  and 
Italy.  But  they  have  not  found  favor  among  the  phlegmatic 
North-European  countries. 

M  See  STEHELIN,  Essais  de  Socialisme  Municipal,  1901. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      113 

the  time  was  largely  given  over  to  the  question  of 
organizing  the  municipal  public  service,  public  hygiene, 
etc. 

In  Lille  the  Socialists  began  their  administration  of 
local  affairs  by  raising  the  budget  from  740,000  francs 
in  1897  to  1,019,000  francs  in  1899.  Free  industrial 
education  was  established  for  the  working  people;  a 
municipal  theater  was  opened ;  school  children  were  fed 
and  clothed;  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  regulate 
the  length  of  the  working  day  and  fix  a  minimum 
wage  for  municipal  employees.  At  Dijon  the  feeding 
and  clothing  of  school  children  was  regulated  by  the 
amount  of  wages  earned  by  the  parents.  Free  medical 
aid  was  provided,  and  a  drug-store  was  induced  to 
sell  medicines  to  the  poor  at  reduced  cost.  The  local 
labor  exchange  was  voted  an  appropriation  from  public 
funds. 

These  illustrations  show  the  general  trend  of 
municipal  Socialism  in  France.  The  results  are  not 
numerous.  But  the  French  Socialists  justify  their 
meager  practical  results  by  pointing  to  the  centralized 
system  of  administration  which  enables  the  prefect 
and  other  administrative  officers  to  veto  many  of  the 
acts  of  the  municipal  councils.  The  first  thing  that 
the  Socialists  attempted  to  do  in  their  towns  was  the 
readjustment  of  the  finances  for  the  benefit  of  the 
working  classes.  Their  acts  were  vetoed  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  ultra  vires.  The  attempt  to  fix 
a  minimum  wage  for  municipal  employees  met  the 
same  fate.  Then  the  municipalities  petitioned  the 
central  government  for  greater  financial  autonomy. 
This  was  denied.  In  Roubaix  the  opening  of  a  mu- 
nicipal drug-store  was  disallowed  by  the  prefect  on  the 
ground  that  the  corporations  act  does  not  grant  that 


H4    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

power  to  municipalities.  Municipal  bakeries  met  the 
same  fate.  During  the  last  few  years,  however,  the 
rigor  of  the  central  administration  has  relaxed  and  the 
towns  are  allowed  greater  liberty  in  municipal  affairs. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  is  perhaps  little  wonder 
that  French  municipal  Socialism  is  a  poor  house- 
keeper. You  look  in  vain  for  the  high  ideals  of  the 
Socialist  evangelist.  If  you  visit  the  towns  where 
Socialism  abounds  you  will  be  told  that  the  Socialists 
have  spent  more  money  on  the  poor  than  their  prede- 
cessors. You  will  find  better  nurseries  for  the  babies 
of  the  working  mothers,  meals  and  stockings  doled  out 
to  school  children  of  the  poor,  here  and  there  a  physi- 
cian or  a  lawyer  retained  by  the  town  to  render  free 
service  to  the  working  people.  On  inquiry  you  will 
find  that  the  soldiers  are  drawing  increased  pensions, 
the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  workingmen  are  espe- 
cially provided  for,  and  that  bread  is  delivered  to  the 
needy  at  the  door  so  they  need  not  go  ask  for  it,  need 
not  be  beggars. 

You  are  impressed  that  these  proletarian  town 
governments  are  trying  to  destroy  poverty.  Their 
ideal  is  noble,  but  some  of  their  efforts  are  very 
crude. 

The  French  Socialists  are  not  by  any  means  a  unit 
on  the  municipal  question.  In  1911  it  was  the  princi- 
pal question  discussed  at  their  national  convention  at 
Saint-Quentin.  Professor  Millhaud  of  the  University 
of  Geneva,  in  a  very  clear  and  able  speech,  pointed 
out  the  merits  of  municipalization,  citing  the  owner- 
ship of  street  railways,  gas,  waterworks,  garbage 
plants,  and  other  public  utilities  of  European  and 
American  cities.  He  included  municipal  drug-stores, 
the  feeding  and  clothing  of  school  children,  the  estab- 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE      115 

lishing  of  playgrounds,  and  many  other  municipal 
activities  familiar  to  American  practice,  in  his  local 
Socialistic  program. 

His  exposition  met  with  the  approval  of  the  Jaures 
faction.  But  the  Guesdists  were  not  satisfied.  "  Who 
would  benefit  by  cheap  municipal  gas?  "  cried  a  dele- 
gate from  the  rear  of  the  hall.  "  The  rich  man,  for 
he  needs  a  great  deal  of  gas  to  light  up  his  big  house. 
But  what  laboring  man  needs  gas?  When  has  he 
time  to  read?  In  the  evening  he  is  too  tired,  and  he 
gives  no  receptions."  Guesde  maintained  with  great 
vehemence  that  municipal  ownership  and  state  owner- 
ship are  not  Socialism;  they  may  be  a  step  toward 
Socialism,  but  often  result  in  substituting  the  tyr- 
anny of  the  state  for  the  tyranny  of  the  private 
employer. 

The  convention  adopted  a  municipal  program  after 
a  prolonged  discussion  that  brought  out  clearly  the 
fact  that  the  Guesdists  are  not  devoted  to  state  or 
municipal  ownership  as  a  principle,  but  only  as  a 
means  to  a  greater  end. 

During  the  last  few  years  a  very  important  move- 
ment has  been  taking  place  among  the  peasantry  of 
southern  France.  Under  the  leadership  of  Compere- 
Morel,  a  gardener  and  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  Socialism  is  spreading  rapidly  among  these 
small  and  independent  landowners.  There  are  several 
million  of  these  thrifty  peasants  in  France,  and  their 
acquisition  to  Socialism  will  mean,  not  only  a  great 
increase  in  political  power,  but  a  modification  of  their 
theory  of  property.  The  Socialists  are  luring  the  small 
land-holder  by  telling  him  that  they  are  with  him  in 
his  fight  against  the  large  estates.  They  assure  the 
peasant  that  they  have  no  designs  upon  his  small 


ii6    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

holdings.  It  is  the  great  property,  not  merely  property, 
that  is  the  object  of  their  hostility.35 

There  are  other  evidences  that  French  Socialism 
is  mellowing.  Most  of  its  leaders  are  bourgeois.  Of 
the  seventy-six  united  Socialists  in  the  present  Cham- 
ber, only  thirty  are  workingmen,  or  trade-union  offi- 
cials; eight  are  professors  in  the  University  or  sec- 
ondary schools;  seven  are  journalists;  seven  are  bar- 
risters; seven  are  farmers;  six  are  physicians;  three 
are  school  teachers ;  and  two  are  engineers.  This  does 
not  suggest  class  war. 

Socialism  is  a  power  in  French  politics.  An  ob- 
server who  moves  among  the  middle  class  wonders 
how  much  of  a  power  it  is  in  French  life.  The  Rad- 
ical Party  would  be  considered  Socialistic  in  England 
or  the  United  States;  half  of  it  calls  itself  Socialist- 
Radical.  It  rules  the  Republic  from  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies.  Everywhere  you  hear  the  people  talking 
about  collectivism,  the  nationalization  of  railways,  of 
mines,  of  vineyards,  of  docks,  and  ultimately  of  wheat- 
fields  and  market-gardens. 

But  the  French  are  a  nation  of  small  farmers  and 
shopkeepers  who  cling  to  their  property  while  they 
argue  and  vote  for  their  radicalism  and  Socialism. 
This  is  the  duality  of  their  temperament;  they  love 
possessions  and  they  love  philosophical  speculation. 
They  keep  their  fields  and  their  little  shops,  and  spec- 
ulate about  the  new  to-morrow.  They  vote  and  de- 
bate with  imaginative  fervor;  they  pay  taxes  with 
stolid  commonplace  silence.  In  measuring  the  strength 
of  French  Socialism  it  is  necessary  to  keep  this  in 

K  See  Les  Pay  sans  et  le  Socialisme,  a  speech  delivered  by  Com- 
pere-Morel, in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  December  6, 1909.  Also 
published  in  pamphlet  form  by  the  Socialist  Party. 


THE  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF  FRANCE     117 

mind.  Not  that  the  Frenchman  does  not  take  Social- 
ism seriously.  He  takes  it  as  seriously  as  he  takes 
monarchism  or  republicanism,  and  much  more  seri- 
ously than  he  takes  religion.  There  is  only  one  thing 
he  takes  more  seriously — his  property. 

That  is  why  the  Socialists  number  among  their 
adherents  all  classes  and  all  conditions  of  men,  from 
Anatole  France,  most  fastidious  of  literary  aristocrats, 
to  gaunt  and  hungry  proletarians  who  infest  the  cel- 
lars and  garrets  of  ancient  Paris. 

The  French  are,  after  all,  the  greatest  of  realists. 
They  speculate  in  dreams  and  delicate  theories;  but 
they  never  lose  their  grip  on  their  little  farms  and 
their  little  shops  and  the  gold  bonds  of  Russia. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY 


IN  Belgium  the  physical,  political,  and  economic 
environment  is  suited  to  a  symmetrical  development 
of  Socialism.  It  is  a  small  country,  "  at  the  meeting- 
point  of  the  three  great  European  civilizations,"  Van- 
dervelde,  the  leader  of  the  Belgian  Socialists,  has 
pointed  out.  And  his  boast  is  true  that  the  Belgian 
Socialists  have  absorbed  the  leading  characteristics 
of  the  social  movement  in  each  of  these  countries. 
"  From  England  Belgian  Socialists  have  learned  self- 
help,  and  have  copied  their  free  and  independent  or- 
ganizations, principally  in  the  form  of  co-operative 
societies.  From  Germany  they  have  adopted  the  polit- 
ical tactics  and  the  fundamental  doctrines  which  were 
expressed  for  the  first  time  in  the  '  Communist  Man- 
ifesto.' From  France  they  have  taken  their  idealistic 
tendencies,  and  the  integral  conception  of  Socialism, 
considered  as  an  extension  of  the  revolutionary  philos- 
ophy and  as  a  new  religion,  an  extension  and  a  reali- 
zation of  Christianity." 

This  threefold  growth  would  have  been  impossible 
if  the  environment  had  not  been  favorable.  The  Bel- 
gian population  is  congested  into  industrial  towns  that 
are  thickly  strewn  over  the  country,  like  the  suburbs 
of  one  vast  manufacturing  community.  These  work- 
ing people  have  always  been  miserably  housed  and 

1x8 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  119 

poorly  fed.  In  1903-05  a  public  inquiry  into  housing 
conditions  was  instituted  in  Brussels.  In  the  most 
congested  portions  of  the  city,  564  households,  com- 
prising 2,224  persons,  lived  in  one-room  tenements. 
The  houses  were  in  miserable  condition. 

The  commission  appointed  after  the  riots  of  1886 
describes  conditions  that  are  little  better  than  those 
that  prevailed  in  England  in  1830.  Even  as  late  as 
1902,  out  of  750,000  working  men  and  women  one- 
tenth  only  worked  less  than  ten  hours  a  day;  the  rest 
worked  from  ten  to  twelve  hours.  One- fourth  of  these 
working  people  had  a  wage  of  2  francs  (40  cents) 
a  day,  another  fourth  had  2  to  3  francs  (40  to  60 
cents)  a  day,  and  the  upper  section  only  3.50  to  4.50 
francs  (70  cents  to  90  cents)  a  day.  The  government 
inquiry  in  1896  disclosed  the  following  rate  of  wages : 


In  the  low  countries  where  agriculture  is  the  leading 
occupation,  conditions  are  no  better.  The  peasant  is 
poor;  the  conditions  of  tenancy  hard,  though  recent 
legislation  has  modified  them  somewhat  in  the  tenant's 
favor;  and  the  holdings  small.  Agricultural  wages 
are  very  low.  The  men  in  the  Flemish  district  receive 
an  average  of  1.63  francs  (33  cents)  a  day,  without 
board,  or  about  .90  francs  (18  cents)  with  board. 
The  women  receive  1.06  francs  (21  cents)  without 
board,  and  .64  francs  (12^  cents)  with  board.2 

1  L'Enquete  Gouvernementale,  Vol.  XVIII. 
*  L'Annuaire  Statistique. 


120    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Here,  then,  is  a  population  of  industrial  and  peasant 
workers  who  are  barely  able  to  make  a  living,  who 
have  little  time  and  less  opportunity  for  education  and 
general  development.  The  percentage  of  illiteracy  is 
very  great;  and  is  equaled  only  by  the  most  backward 
countries  of  southern  Europe.  In  1902,  out  of  every 
1,000  militiamen,  101  were  entirely  illiterate;  in 
France,  46;  in  England,  37;  in  Holland,  23;  in  Swit- 
zerland, 20;  in  Denmark,  .08;  in  Germany,  .07.  In 
1909  Rowntree  estimated  the  illiteracy  in  the  four 
largest  Belgian  cities  to  be  11.75  Per  cent.;  in  the 
Flemish  communes,  34.69  per  cent.;  and  in  the 
Walloon  communes  (excepting  Liege),  17.34  per 
cent. 

Outward  circumstances  have  not  been  wanting  to 
arouse  this  teeming  population  into  violent  discontent. 
The  government  for  years  paid  no  heed  to  their  misery, 
and  the  Church,  which  is  very  powerful  in  Belgium, 
was  content  to  distribute  charity  and  consolation,  and 
to  admonish  the  employer  to  patriarchal  care  for  his 
men. 

The  national  status  of  the  country  is  guaranteed 
by  the  powers;  there  is  no  fear  of  invasion  and  no 
need  for  the  intolerable  military  burdens  that  weigh 
down  the  great  countries  of  Europe.  There  have  been 
no  international  complications.  This  little  country, 
with  its  clusters  of  thriving  towns,  its  mines,  farms, 
and  seaports,  could  settle  down  contentedly  to  its  daily 
tasks  like  a  large  family. 

The  great  manufacturers  and  industrial  leaders  took 
even  less  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  working  people 
than  the  state  or  the  Church.  No  one  seemed  to  care 
how  the  worker  fared,  and  when  he  himself  learned 
to  care  the  first  reactions  were  violent. 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  121 

We  will  limit  ourselves,  in  this  inquiry,  to  the  polit- 
ical development  of  the  labor  movement. 

Belgium  is  a  constitutional  monarchy.  The  Consti- 
tution provides  for  a  parliament  composed  of  the 
Senate  and  the  Chamber  of  Representatives,  both 
elected  by  the  people,  the  Representatives  by  direct,  the 
Senators  by  indirect,  elections.  The  King  has  the 
veto  power  and  the  power  to  prorogue  parliament. 
A  general  election  follows  prorogation,  in  which  the 
whole  membership  of  Senate  and  House  are  elected. 
The  communes  are  governed  by  elective  communal 
councils. 

From  the  establishment  of  the  constitution,  in  1831, 
there  have  been  two  leading  political  parties — the 
Clerical  or  Catholic,  and  the  Liberal.  The  Clerical 
Party  has  been  not  merely  conservative,  it  has  been 
reactionary.  It  clings  not  only  to  monarchic  pre- 
rogatives, but  to  ecclesiastical  supremacy.  This  medi- 
eval policy  it  imposed  upon  school  and  government  and 
Church.  The  party  has  until  very  recently  been  in 
the  majority.  It  is  strongest  in  the  low  counties, 
among  the  agricultural  Flemings.  When  the  activity 
of  the  Socialists  and  Radicals  forced  the  question  upon 
the  country,  a  "  left  "  wing  of  the  party  began  to 
interest  itself  in  the  laboring  man,  through  the  tra- 
ditional methods  of  the  Church,  rather  than  by  means 
of  state  interference. 

The  Liberal  Party  is  a  protest,  not  only  against  the 
predominant  influence  of  the  Church  in  political 
affairs,  but  also  against  the  financial  policies  of  the 
Conservatives.  The  Liberals  early  espoused  the  cause 
of  free  schools,  modified  tariffs,  greater  local  auton- 
omy, and  liberal  election  laws. 

The  election  laws  confined  the  electorate  to  the 


122    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

few  property-holders  and  professional  men  of  the 
country.  In  1890,  out  of  1,800,000  male  citizens,  133,- 
ooo  were  qualified  electors. 


ii 

These  were  the  conditions  that  prevailed  when  the 
Socialists  quite  suddenly  appeared  on  the  scene.  There 
had  been  a  Socialist  propaganda  for  years  in  Belgium. 
Brussels  was  a  city  of  refuge  to  many  fleeing  revolu- 
tionists of  1848.  In  1857  a  labor  union  was  organized 
among  the  spinners  and  weavers  of  Ghent.  The  same 
year  Colin  published  his  book,  What  Is  Social  Science? 
This  volume  prepared  the  way  for  the  remarkable 
collectivist  movement,  which  was  stimulated  into  mod- 
ern activity  by  Anselee,  a  workingman  of  Ghent  and 
organizer  of  the  Vooruit  Co-operative  Society.  Caesar 
de  Paepe,  a  disciple  of  Colin  and  a  man  of  remarkable 
intellectual  endowments,  tried  to  bring  unity  to  the 
Belgian  movement.  But  the  factionalism  was  not  cast 
aside  until  1885,  when  the  Belgian  Labor  Party  (Parti 
Ouvrier  Beige)  was  organized. 

Now  Socialists  of  all  factions  were  drawn  together. 
But,  unlike  Socialists  in  other  countries,  they  did  not 
expend  their  energies  on  political  action.  The  Belgian 
labor  movement  had  a  threefold  origin — the  co-opera- 
tive movement  of  Colin,  the  labor-union  movement, 
and  the  Socialistic  or  political  movement  of  de  Paepe. 
These  three  activities,  united  in  the  Labor  Party,  have 
continued  to  develop,  until  they  are  a  model  for  So- 
cialists in  all  countries. 

The  organization  of  the  party  is  simple.  The  vari- 
ous organizations  are  federated  into  large  groups,  e.g., 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  123 

the  co-operative  group,  each  with  a  separate  organiza- 
tion. The  provinces  and  communes  have  their  local 
committees  for  each  separate  activity.  Over  the  entire 
party  sits  a  general  council  (conseil  general).  An  ex- 
ecutive committee  of  nine  is  chosen  from  this  council, 
and  this  committee  has  practical  control  of  the  party. 
The  annual  convention  is  the  supreme  authority.  It 
elects  the  general  council  and  decides,  in  democratic 
fashion,  all  important  questions  of  policy  and  activity. 
Every  constituent  organization,  such  as  the  co-opera- 
tive societies,  etc.,  contributes  from  its  funds  to  the 
support  of  the  party.  The  party  is  therefore  a  fed- 
eration of  many  societies  with  various  activities,  not 
a  vast  group  of  individual  voters,  as  the  German  So- 
cial Democracy.  Its  solidarity  is  not  individual,  but 
federal. 

The  organization  of  the  Labor  Party  proved  a  stim- 
ulus to  all  the  constituent  societies.  From  1885  to 
1895  over  400  co-operative  societies  were  formed,  and 
within  a  few  years  7,000  mutual  aid  societies  were 
organized.  The  membership  of  the  labor  unions  in- 
creased from  less  than  50,000  in  1880  to  62,350  in 
1889,  and  nearly  150,000  in  1905. 

The  Socialist  movement  had  now  achieved  solidar- 
ity, and  was  prepared  to  enter  into  a  conflict  for  power. 
Its  issues  were  two :  universal  suffrage  and  free  secu- 
lar education.  The  second  was  necessarily  included 
in  the  first;  for  without  parliamentary  power  it  would 
be  impossible  to  secure  liberal  educational  laws,  and 
without  a  liberal  franchise  it  would  be  impossible  to 
get  parliamentary  power.  All  their  political  energies 
were  therefore  devoted  to  the  reform  of  the  election 
laws. 

It  is  in  this  activity  that  the  Belgian  movement  forms 


124    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

for  our  purpose  one  of  the  most  instructive  chapters 
of  European  Socialism.  Here  is  a  proletarian  horde 
deprived  of  participation  in  government  in  a  constitu- 
tional monarchy,  struggling  toward  political  recogni- 
tion. It  is  armed  with  all  the  weapons  of  militant 
Socialism:  a  revolutionary  tradition;  a  national  his- 
tory rich  in  mob  violence,  street  brawls,  and  conflicts 
with  police  and  soldiers ;  possessed  of  a  well-organized 
party,  a  class  solidarity,  and  capable  and  courageous 
leaders  who  are  willing  to  go,  and  do  go,  to  the  ex- 
treme of  the  general  strike  and  violence  in  order  to 
achieve  their  goal. 

In  short,  here  we  have  the  Socialist  political  ideal 
working  itself  from  theory  into  reality  through  class 
struggle.  But  there  is  the  usual  important  modifica- 
tion of  the  Marxian  conditions;  viz.,  the  liberal  bour- 
geois prove  a  potent  ally  to  the  Socialists  in  the  press 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  Chamber  of  Representatives. 
While  the  Socialists  were  surging  in  vehement  earnest- 
ness around  the  Parliament  House,  the  Liberals  were 
as  earnestly  pleading  their  cause  within. 

The  definite  fight  for  universal  suffrage  began  a 
few  years  before  the  organization  of  the  Labor  Party. 
In  1866  a  group  of  workingmen  issued  an  appeal  to 
their  fellows  to  begin  the  battle  for  the  ballot.  In 
1879  the  Socialists  issued  a  manifesto  which  stated 
the  case  as  follows :  " '  All  powers  are  derived  from 
the  nation;  all  Belgians  are  equal  before  the  law/ 
says  the  Constitution  of  1831. 

"  In  reality  all  powers  are  derived  from  a  small 
number  of  privileged  ones,  and  all  the  Belgians  are 
divided  into  two  classes — those  who  are  rich  and  have 
rights,  and  those  who  are  poor  and  have  burdens. 

"  We  wish  to  see  this  inequality  vanish,  at  least 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  125 

before  the  ballot-box.  For  the  most  numerous  class 
of  society  ought  to  be  represented  in  the  Chamber 
of  Representatives,  because  the  people  whose  daily 
bread  depends  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  country 
should  have  the  power  to  participate  in  public  affairs. 

"  Constitutions  are  not  immutable,  and  what  was 
solemnly  promulgated  on  one  occasion  may,  without 
revolution,  be  altered  on  another."  3 

The  proclamation  then  proceeded  to  call  a  meeting 
at  Brussels  for  the  following  January  ( 1880) .  At  this 
meeting  it  was  decided  to  circulate  a  monster  petition 
asking  Parliament  to  pass  a  liberal  election  law  and 
to  organize  a  demonstration  to  be  held  in  Brussels 
the  following  summer.  In  this,  the  first  of  a  long 
series  of  demonstrations,  about  6,000  persons  from 
various  parts  of  the  kingdom  paraded  the  streets  of 
the  capital.  There  was  a  clash  with  the  police,  and 
a  number  of  arrests  were  made.  From  1881  to  1885 
the  Liberals  tried  to  persuade  the  Clericals  to  agree 
upon  a  constitutional  revision;  and  the  Socialists 
brought  to  bear  upon  them  all  the  pressure  of  the 
streets.  But  the  Clericals  were  firm.  Then  the  Social- 
ists tried  another  manoeuver.  They  issued  a  mani- 
festo "  to  the  people  of  Belgium,"  complaining  of  the 
dominion  of  the  Church  over  education,  the  dominion 
of  a  few  families  over  the  nation,  and  the  failure  of 
the  government  to  grant  liberty  to  the  people.  "  The 
hour  has  come  for  all  citizens  to  rally  under  the 
republican  flag." 

Instead  of  a  republican  uprising,  something  more 
significant  and  potent  occurred;  the  Labor  Party  was 
organized,  welding  together  all  the  forces  of  discon- 

8  BERTRAND,  Histoire  de  la  Democratic  et  du  Socialisms  en 
Belgique  depuis  1830,  Vol.  II,  p.  331. 


126    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tent  and  unifying  their  demands  into  a  protest  so 
strong  that  the  government  'was  finally  compelled  to 
yield.  Not,  however,  until  it  had  exhausted  almost 
every  resource  of  resistance. 

The  party  was  organized  just  in  the  crux  of  time. 
A  financial  crisis  was  beginning  to  increase  the  hard- 
ships of  the  industrial  classes.  The  unrest  was  inten- 
sified by  an  ingenious  piece  of  propagandist  literature, 
a  Workingman's  Catechism  (Catechism  du  Peuple), 
written  by  a  workingman.  Two  hundred  thousand 
copies  in  French  and  60,000  in  Flemish  were  scattered 
among  the  discontented  people.  Its  influence  was  won- 
derful. A  few  questions  will  indicate  the  power  that 
lay  behind  its  simple  questions  and  answers. 

Question.  "  Who  are  you  ?  " 

Answer.  "I  am  a  slave." 

Q.  "  Are  you  not  a  man  ?  " 

A.  "  From  the  point  of  view  of  humanity  I  am  a  man, 
but  in  relation  to  society  I  am  a  slave." 

Q.  "  What  is  the  25th  article  of  the  Constitution?  " 

A.  "  The  25th  article  of  the  Constitution  says :  '  All 
power  is  derived  from  the  nation.' " 

Q.  "Is  this  true?" 

A.  "  It  is  a  falsehood." 

Q.  "Why?" 

A.  "  Because  the  nation  is  composed  of  5,720,807  in- 
habitants, about  6,000,000,  and  of  this  6,000,000  only 
1 17,000  are  consulted  in  the  making  of  laws." 

And  so  through  every  grievance,  social,  economic, 
and  political.  Every  workman  learned  his  catechism. 
Those  who  could  not  read  gathered  in  groups  around 
their  more  fortunate  comrades  and  listened  to  the 
effective  questions  and  answers. 

By  the  beginning  of   1886  the  little  land  was  a 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  127 

seething  caldron  of  political  and  economic  unrest. 
The  strike  movement  began  at  Liege  and  soon  spread 
to  Charleroi  and  other  industrial  centers.  There  was 
enough  destruction  of  property  and  clashing  with 
police  and  soldiery  to  create  a  panic  in  the  country. 
In  Brussels  business  was  at  a  standstill  for  days.  The 
Socialist  Party,  in  a  circular  issued  to  the  people,  said : 
"  The  country  is  visited  by  a  terrible  crisis.  The 
disinherited  classes  are  suffering.  Strikes  are  multi- 
plying, riots  are  provoked  by  the  misery.  The  con- 
stantly decreasing  wages  are  spreading  consternation 
everywhere." 

The  disorder  aroused  a  number  of  Anarchists  in 
Brussels.  They  posted  anonymous  placards  inciting 
the  people  to  violence.  The  Socialists  repudiated  the 
Anarchists,  and  one  of  their  orators  said:  "  Do  not  let 
yourselves  be  carried  away  by  violence;  that  will  only 
benefit  your  adversaries." 

A  mass  demonstration  was  planned,  but  the  mayor 
of  Brussels  prohibited  it.  The  Labor  Party,  however, 
were  allowed  to  hold  their  annual  convention  and  to 
march  under  their  red  flag,  the  government  merely 
requesting  that  the  demonstrants  refrain  from  shout- 
ing, "  Vive  la  Republique !  "  Thirty  thousand  labor- 
ing men  joined  in  the  demonstration.  The  Liberals 
and  Radicals  refused  to  take  part  in  it  because  they 
claimed  it  was  only  a  workingman's  movement,  and 
the  Anarchists  refused  because  "  elections  lead  to  noth- 
ing." This  demonstration  was  so  serious  and  impos- 
ing ''that  it  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
people,  and  was  not  without  effect  upon  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  crisis  finally  passed  over.  A  great  many  rioters 
were  imprisoned  in  spite  of  the  popular  clamor  for 


128    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

universal  amnesty.  The  general  strike  brought  no 
immediate  advantage  to  the  workmen. 

The  next  few  years  the  Socialists  devoted  to  organi- 
zation. They  were  determined  not  to  enter  upon 
extended  strikes  again  without  thorough  preparation. 
In  the  meantime  the  Liberal  Party  split.  The  Radi- 
cals, or  Progressists,  at  their  first  congress  in  1877 
declared  themselves  in  favor  of  the  separation  of 
Church  and  state,  military  reform,  compulsory  edu- 
cation, social  and  electoral  reform.  They  were,  how- 
ever, not  yet  prepared  to  commit  themselves  to  uni- 
versal suffrage.  They  favored  rather  an  educational 
test  for  voters.  This,  however,  they  abandoned  in 
1890,  and  virtually  placed  themselves  upon  the  So- 
cialist platform. 

On  August  10,  1890,  another  great  demonstration 
in  favor  of  universal  suffrage  took  place  in  Brussels. 
Over  40,000  men  joined  in  the  parade.  The  Progres- 
sists did  not  take  part  in  the  marching,  but  they  were 
stationed  along  the  route  to  cheer  the  men  in  line. 
Before  they  dispersed,  all  the  participants  united  in 
taking  a  solemn  oath  that  they  would  not  give  up  the 
fight  "  until  the  Belgian  people,  through  universal 
suffrage,  should  regain  their  fatherland."  This  is  the 
famous  "  Oath  of  August  10." 

After  this  demonstration  the  Progressists  joined 
with  the  Socialists  in  a  conference  for  discussing  ways 
and  means  for  securing  universal  suffrage.4  This  con- 
ference is  notable  because  it  drew  Radicals,  Progres- 
sists, and  Socialists  into  a  united  campaign  for  suffrage 
reform.  The  conference  resolved  to  organize  demon- 

*  This  conference  sent  the  following  telegram  to  the  King : 
"You  have  asked  what  is  the  watchword  of  the  country;  the 
watchword  is  universal  suffrage." 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  129 

strations  in  every  corner  of  the  kingdom  and  to  memo- 
rialize Parliament.  This  was  to  be  a  final  peaceful 
appeal.  If  it  remained  unheeded  a  general  strike 
would  follow.  The  bourgeois  Progressists  assented 
to  this  ultimatum. 

A  few  days  before  the  Socialist-Progressist  confer- 
ence met,  a  clerical  social  congress  had  convened  at 
Liege.  The  agitation  of  the  Labor  Party  had  at  last 
aroused  the  Conservatives.  The  resolutions  of  this 
conference  were  pervaded  by  the  traditional  apostolic 
paternalistic  spirit  of  the  Church.  It  demanded  social 
reform,  amelioration  of  harsh  conditions,  state  arbi- 
tration, industrial  insurance;  but  it  set  its  face  against 
universal  suffrage.  On  the  wings  of  an  awakened  con- 
servatism it  tried  to  ride  the  whirlwind  of  Socialism. 

But  no  halfway  measures  would  now  placate  the 
agitators.  The  great  mass  of  Belgian  workmen  were 
aroused,  and  nothing  but  the  ballot  would  satisfy 
them. 

A  propaganda  was  begun  in  the  army.  The  enlist- 
ment laws  were  favorable  to  the  rich,  who  could  pur- 
chase freedom  from  military  service.  The  poor  con- 
scripts were  especially  susceptible  to  the  Socialist  prop- 
aganda. 

In  the  autumn  of  1890  at  the  Labor  Party's  annual 
convention  it  was  suggested  that,  inasmuch  as  the 
parliament  of  the  Few  had  not  heeded  the  wishes 
of  the  nation,  a  parliament  of  the  People  should  be 
called,  to  be  composed  of  as  many  members  as  the 
existing  parliament,  but  chosen  by  universal  suffrage. 
Even  a  program  was  proposed  for  this  fancied  parlia- 
ment. 

By  this  time  the  petitions  prepared  by  the  suffrage 
congress  were  ready.  In  every  arrondissement  there 


130    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

were  demonstrations.  In  Brussels  8,000  men  marched 
to  the  city  hall  and  handed  the  mayor  their  petition 
protesting  against  the  privileged  election  laws  and  de- 
manding universal  suffrage.  From  every  village  in 
the  kingdom  protests  were  brought  to  the  government 
demanding  universal  suffrage. 

Finally  on  November  27,  1890,  a  Liberal  member 
in  the  Chamber  of  Representatives  proposed  a  change 
in  the  Constitution  enlarging  the  electoral  franchise. 
He  explained  the  injustice  of  the  limited  franchise, 
dwelt  on  the  dangers  of  strikes  and  riots,  and  said 
that  he  believed  the  Belgian  workmen  as  capable  of 
exercising  the  rights  of  citizenship  as  those  of  neigh- 
boring countries.  All  parties  agreed  to  discuss  the 
amendment.  The  debate  held  popular  excitement  in 
abeyance.  But  as  it  became  more  and  more  evident 
that  nothing  would  be  done  the  workingman  became 
restive.  Early  in  1892  riots  broke  out  in  various 
cities.  The  situation  became  acute.  Socialists  and 
Radicals  organized  a  popular  referendum  on  the  ques- 
tion. It  was  not  an  official  referendum,  and  its  results 
were  not  binding.  But  it  was  an  effective  method  of 
propaganda,  and  in  many  of  the  communes  the  coun- 
cils gave  it  their  sanction,  thereby  lending  it  the  color 
of  legality. 

Five  propositions  were  submitted  to  the  voters: 
(i)  manhood  suffrage  at  twenty-one  years;  (2)  man- 
hood suffrage  at  twenty-five  years;  (3)  exclusion  of 
illiterates  and  persons  in  receipt  of  public  or  private 
charity;  (4)  household  suffrage  and  mental  capacity 
defined  by  law;  (5)  the  exclusion  of  all  who  have 
not  passed  an  elementary  educational  standard.  As  a 
rule  the  Clericals  refused  to  participate  in  the  referen- 
dum. 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY     131 

In  Brussels,  out  of  72,465  entitled  to  vote  only 
38,217  voted,  with  the  following  results:  manhood 
suffrage  at  twenty-one  years,  29,949;  manhood  suf- 
frage at  twenty-five  years,  5,253;  all  other  proposi- 
tions together,  3,015.  In  Huy,  out  of  3,513  voters 
only  i, 800  voted,  and  1,700  of  these  were  in  favor 
of  universal  suffrage.  In  Antwerp,  where  Liberals 
and  Clericals  are  about  evenly  divided,  only  forty- 
three  per  cent,  of  the  electors  voted,  and  of  18,701 
votes  cast,  15,704  were  for  universal  suffrage. 

This  referendum,  and  all  the  demonstrations,  had 
very  little  effect  upon  parliament.  The  deputies  were 
in  favor  of  revision,  but  could  not  agree  upon  a  plan. 
The  Radicals  were  in  favor  of  universal  suffrage,  the 
Clericals  unalterably  opposed  to  it,  and  the  Liberals 
only  sympathetic  towards  it. 

Finally,  in  April,  all  the  proposals  were  voted  down 
by  the  Chamber  of  Representatives.  The  Socialists 
immediately  ordered  a  general  strike. 

It  began  in  the  coal  mines  of  Hainault,  spread  to  the 
weavers  and  spinners  of  Ghent,  to  the  glass  and  iron 
works  of  the  Walloon  districts,  to  the  printers  and 
pressmen  of  Brussels,  and  to  the  docks  at  Antwerp. 
Two  hundred  thousand  men  stopped  work  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  While  the  mills  and  mines  were 
idle  the  police  and  soldiers  were  busy.  Six  men  were 
killed  at  Joliment,  six  killed  and  twelve  wounded  at 
Mons.  In  Brussels  the  mob  pried  up  the  paving-stones 
for  weapons;  the  city  guards  patrolled  the  city,  meet- 
ings were  forbidden,  the  streets  were  cleared  of  people, 
and  the  mayor  was  wounded  in  a  melee.  A  band  of 
"  communists "  threw  a  barricade  across  Rue  des 
Eperonniers,  the  last  of  the  barricades.  The  troops 
made  short  work  of  it.  Scores  of  arrests  were  made 


132    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

in  the  various  cities  and  the  offenders  received  sen- 
tences varying  from  six  years'  imprisonment  to  a  fine 
of  fifty  francs. 

In  the  height  of  the  excitement  the  Chamber  of  Rep- 
resentatives convened  and  agreed  upon  a  franchise 
amendment.  Immediately  the  general  council  of  the 
Labor  Party  met  and  declared  the  strike  off.  It  sent 
out  this  pronouncement :  "  The  Labor  Party  through 
its  general  council  records  the  insertion  of  manhood 
suffrage  in  the  Constitution.  It  declares  that  this  first 
victory  of  the  party  has  been  won  under  pressure  of 
a  general  strike.  It  is  resolved  to  persist  in  the  work 
of  propaganda  until  it  has  won  universal  political 
equality  and  has  suppressed  the  plural  voting  privi- 
lege." 

The  new  electoral  law  (1893)  was  a  compromise 
suggested  by  Professor  Albert  Nyssens  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Louvain.  It  recognized  the  three  principal 
demands  of  the  three  parliamentary  factions:  univer- 
sal suffrage  of  the  Radicals,  property  qualifications  of 
the  Clericals,  and  educational  qualifications  of  the 
Liberals.  Universal  suffrage  was  granted  to  all  male 
citizens  twenty-five  years  of  age.  But  this  was  modi- 
fied in  favor  of  property  and  education  by  the  grant- 
ing of  additional  votes.  One  additional  vote  was  given, 
(i)  to  every  voter  thirty-five  years  of  age  who  was 
the  head  of  a  family  and  paid  a  direct  tax  of  5  francs 
(one  dollar)  ;  (2)  to  every  owner  of  real  property 
valued  at  2,000  francs  ($400.00),  or  who  had  an 
annual  income  of  200  francs  ($40.00)  derived  from 
investments  in  the  Belgian  public  funds.  Two  addi- 
tional votes  were  given  to  the  holders  of  diplomas 
from  the  higher  schools,  to  those  who  were  or  had 
been  in  public  office,  and  to  those  who  practised  a 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  133 

profession  for  which  a  higher  education  was  necessary. 
No  one  was  allowed  more  than  three  votes. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  this  fancy  franchise,  it  is 
at  least  ingenious.  It  satisfied  the  first  popular  hunger 
after  the  ballot.  The  workmen  could  vote.  The  con- 
ditions imposed  for  the  casting  of  two  votes  seem 
very  liberal  and  the  majority  of  American  voters  could 
qualify  under  them.  But  in  Belgium,  the  land  of  low 
wages  and  congested  populations,  they  were  real  bar- 
ricades. Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  voters  failed  to 
reach  even  this  low  standard. 

Voting  was  made  compulsory.  Election  was  by 
scrutin  de  listed 


HI 

Under  these  conditions  the  Socialists  went  into 
battle.  There  were  1,370,687  electors;  855,628  with 
one  vote,  293,678  with  two  votes,  223,380  with  three 
votes.  The  Socialists  polled  346,000  votes,  the  Cler- 
icals 927,000,  the  Liberals  530,000.  The  new  parlia- 
ment was  composed  as  follows:  Chamber  of  Repre- 
sentatives— Clericals,  104;  Liberals,  19;  Socialists,  29; 
Senate — Clericals,  71;  Liberals,  21;  Socialists,  2.6 

From  the  first  the  Socialists  in  Belgium  have  not 
been  reluctant  in  making  election  arrangements  with 
other  parties.  In  this  their  first  election  they  united 
with  the  Progressists.  In  Brussels  on  the  second  bal- 
lot they  proposed  terms  to  the  Liberals,  which  were 

6  The  candidates  are  arranged  in  groups  or  "  lists,"  and  the 
voter  votes  for  the  list  as  well  as  for  the  individual  names  on 
the  list.  Any  100  electors  may  prepare  such  a  list.  The  suc- 
cessful candidate  must  receive  a  majority.  This  often  neces- 
sitates a  second  ballot  between  the  two  receiving  the  highest 
number  of  votes. 

"BERTRAND,  Histoire,  Vol.  II,  p.  552. 


134    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

refused.  The  Socialists,  however,  instructed  their 
followers  to  vote  against  the  Clericals  in  every  in- 
stance. Wherever  there  were  no  Radical  or  Socialist 
lists  they  supported  the  Liberals.7 

The  same  widespread  alarm  that  the  first  Socialist 
parliamentary  accessions  aroused  everywhere,  was 
caused  by  these  twenty-nine  Belgian  Socialist  repre- 
sentatives, especially  as  some  of  their  number  were 
promoted  from  prison  to  parliament,  and  one  striker 
was  given  his  liberty  for  the  time  being  so  that  he 
could  attend  the  session.  Vandervelde  allayed  popular 
apprehension  when  he  announced  the  program  of  his 
party,  which  combined  with  the  usual  labor  legislation 
the  demand  for  the  state  purchase  of  coal  mines,  state 
monopoly  of  the  liquor  business,  and  communal  elec- 
tion reforms.  The  proposals  of  the  Belgian  Socialists 
in  parliament  have  invariably  been  practical,  not  revo- 
lutionary or  visionary.  One  of  the  first  bills  introduced 
by  them  provided  for  the  reduction  of  the  stamp  tax 
and  the  tax  on  the  transfer  of  property  and  leases. 
This  tax  was  extremely  high,  nearly  seven  per  cent., 
and  worked  a  peculiar  hardship  on  the  small  tenant. 
The  bill  failed  of  passage.  But  the  government  was 
so  impressed  by  the  facts  presented  in  debate  that  it 
brought  in  a  law  reducing  the  tax  on  transfers  for  all 
small  estates. 

It  is  by  this  indirect  method,  by  their  presence  in 
the  Chamber,  and  by  their  powers  in  debate  that  the 
Belgian  Socialists  have  achieved  many  practical  re- 

T  One  of  the  significant  incidents  of  this  election  was  the  con- 
test against  Frere  Orban,  for  thirty  years  a  parliamentary  leader 
and  one  of  the  greatest  politicians  of  his  day.  His  seat  was 
contested  by  an  obscure  workingman,  and  the  distinguished 
parliamentarian  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  ordeal  of  a 
second  ballot. 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  135 

forms.  They  have  not  the  hauteur  and  aloofness  of 
the  German  Social  Democrat,  nor  the  fiery  passion 
for  idealistic  propaganda  of  the  French ;  they  are  more 
sensible  than  either.  Since  their  entrance  into  parlia- 
ment a  Secretary  of  Labor  has  been  added  to  the 
cabinet,  and  every  department  of  labor  legislation  has 
felt  their  influence.  The  delegation  is  in  constant 
touch  with  the  party  in  the  various  districts.  An  old- 
age  pension  act  has  been  passed,  great  reductions  have 
been  made  in  military  expenditure,  the  conscript  laws 
have  been  modified,  and  the  Socialists  led  in  the  op- 
position to  the  Belgian  policy  in  the  Congo. 

Their  two  main  contentions  have  been  over  the  edu- 
cational laws  and  the  electoral  laws.  A  school  law 
was  passed  by  the  Clericals  in  1895.  It  was  regarded 
as  reactionary  by  the  Socialists,  and  stormy  scenes 
accompanied  its  enactment.  Its  provisions  are  still 
the  source  of  constant  agitation  among  Socialists  and 
Liberals.  They  protest  especially  against  the  teaching 
of  religion  in  the  communal  schools.  It  is  true  that 
any  parent  may  have  his  child  excused  from  attending 
such  instruction  for  reasons  of  conscience  on  written 
application  to  the  proper  authorities.  But  they  insist 
that  this  subjects  the  objecting  parent  to  harsh  treat- 
ment in  Clerical  communities.8 

The  provincial  and  communal  election  laws  were 
less  favorable  to  the  Socialists  than  the  national  law. 
In  1895  the  government  brought  in  a  new  local  elec- 

8  The  Clerical  forces  are  gradually  retreating  before  the  re- 
peated onslaughts  of  Liberals  and  Socialists.  But  the  loyalty  to 
the  Church  remains  undiminished.  On  May  17,  1901,  a  Clerical 
deputy  remarked  in  the  Chamber  that  he  would  like  to  see  the 
temporal  power  of  the  pope  restored.  The  Socialists  immediately 
started  an  uproar  which  ended  in  their  singing  their  "  Marseil- 
laise "  and  the  adjournment  of  the  sitting. 


136    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tion  bill  which  fixed  the  voting  age  at  thirty,  required 
three  years'  residence  in  a  commune,  and  strengthened 
the  plural  voting  system  by  giving  a  fourth  vote  to 
the  large  land-holders.  The  Socialists  and  Radicals 
united  in  contesting  507  of  the  communes  (about  one- 
fourth  of  the  whole  number).  They  won  a  majority 
in  eighty  and  a  considerable  minority  in  180  of  these 
communal  councils.  Necessity  had  cemented  the  alli- 
ance of  Radicals  and  Socialists.  The  Radicals  were 
now  called  "  Chevre-choutiers  "  because  they  tried  to 
carry  the  goat  and  the  cabbage,  Liberals  and  Socialists, 
across  the  stream  in  the  same  boat. 

In  1899  the  government  brought  in  its  new  election 
bill  in  which  it  proposed  to  concede  to  the  demand 
for  proportional  representation.  But  only  the  large 
constituencies  were  to  be  included  in  the  change,  leav- 
ing the  smaller  districts,  mostly  in  the  Flemish  section, 
to  the  Clerical  majorities  that  prevailed  there.  The 
measure  was  unpopular.  The  people  organized  pro- 
tests against  it  in  every  city  in  the  land.  In  Brussels 
a  mob  gathered  in  front  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
Paving-stones  were  ripped  up  and  hurled  through  the 
windows,  and  there  was  charging  and  counter-charg- 
ing between  police  and  populace.  Inside  the  Chamber 
the  scene  was  not  less  tumultuous.  The  Socialists 
tried  to  prevent  business  by  mob  tactics.  Desk-lids 
were  banged,  there  was  shouting  and  singing,  one 
deputy  had  provided  himself  with  a  horn.  The  govern- 
ment was  compelled  to  adjourn  the  session.  All  that 
night  (June  28)  there  was  rioting  in  Brussels.  When 
the  Chamber  met  the  following  day  the  wild  scenes 
were  re-enacted,  when  a  Clerical  deputy  moved  that 
any  member  causing  a  disturbance  be  expelled.  In  the 
debate  that  followed  the  government  declared  itself 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  137 

willing  to  adjourn  and  study  the  various  proposals 
of  the  opposition.  This  cooled  the  crowd  waiting  out- 
side the  Chamber,  and  at  Vandervelde's  suggestion 
the  mob  quietly  dispersed. 

In  the  meantime  the  mayors  of  Brussels,  Ghent, 
Antwerp,  and  Liege  waited  on  the  King  and  told  him 
they  would  no  longer  be  responsible  for  the  main- 
tenance of  order  in  their  cities  if  the  minister  did 
not  withdraw  the  obnoxious  electoral  bill.  The  Lib- 
erals now  joined  the  Socialists  and  Radicals  in  their 
processions  in  every  town,  singing  their  war-songs 
and  carrying  placards  and  banners  of  protest. 

All  this  had  its  effect  on  the  government.  A  com- 
mittee representing  all  the  groups  in  the  Chamber  was 
appointed  to  consider  all  the  proposals  that  had  been 
introduced.  Vandervelde,  in  supporting  the  commit- 
tee, said  that  he  "  spoke  for  the  country  that  had  so 
effectively  demonstrated  its  power  and  achieved  a 
victory."  Soon  after  this  the  reactionary  ministry  fell, 
and  the  new  government  brought  in  a  bill  providing 
uniform  proportional  representation  for  all  the  dis- 
tricts. This  bill  was  promptly  enacted  into  law. 

The  first  general  election  under  this  law  resulted 
as  follows: 

Total  vote  cast 2,105,270 

Socialists   467,326,  electing  32  deputies. 

Clericals 995,056          "        85        " 

Liberals    449,521          "        31        " 

Radicals    47,783  3        " 

Christian  Democrats  55,737  i        " 

The  Clerical  majority  was  cut  from  seventy  to  eighteen 
and  at  last  the  Liberal  elements  were  hopeful  of  gain- 
ing the  government  and  effecting  universal  suffrage 
"  pure  and  simple." 


138    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

We  have  now  seen  how  popular  agitation  wrested, 
first,  a  law  permitting  plural  voting;  second,  a  law 
permitting  proportional  representation,  from  an  un- 
willing government.  The  contest  for  universal  suf- 
frage "  pure  and  simple  "  has  continued  to  the  present 
day.  In  1901  the  Labor  Party  at  its  congress  at  Liege 
decided  to  renew  the  agitation  in  favor  of  universal 
suffrage,  "  even  to  the  extent  of  the  general  strike, 
and  agitation  in  the  streets,  and  not  to  cease  until 
after  the  conquest  of  political  equality."  Vandervelde 
introduced  a  bill  into  the  Chamber  providing  for  "  one 
man,  one  vote,"  and  it  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  92  to 
43.  Immediately  Vandervelde  and  the  Radical  leader 
proposed  a  revision  of  the  Constitution.  The  debate 
on  this  motion  continued  until  the  spring  of  1902. 
All  the  old  spirit  of  unrest  and  violence  broke  out 
anew.  To  the  violence  of  protesting  mobs  was  added 
the  coercive  force  of  the  general  strike.  Three  hun- 
dred thousand  men  stopped  work  and  began  demon- 
strating. Troops  were  called  out  to  guard  the  gov- 
ernment buildings  in  Brussels  and  to  hold  the  crowds 
at  bay  in  the  provinces.  In  Louvain  eight  strikers 
were  killed  by  the  soldiers,  and  in  other  localities  there 
was  bloodshed  and  destruction  of  property. 

Finally  the  Chamber  of  Representatives  voted  to 
close  the  debate  and  dismiss  the  question  entirely  for 
the  session.  The  strike  was  declared  off  and  quiet 
restored. 

In  the  elections  the  following  May  the  Socialists 
lost  three  seats.  This  had  its  effect.  A  meeting  of 
the  party  was  called  and  it  was  decided  not  to  resort 
to  further  violence.  A  delegate  from  Charleroi,  the 
seat  of  the  most  tumultuous  element  in  the  party,  ex- 
pressed regret  that  the  Labor  Party  had  compromised 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  139 

with  the  bourgeois  parties  in  calling  off  the  strike. 
Vandervelde  defended  the  action  of  the  council  on 
the  ground  that  the  continuance  of  the  strike  threat- 
ened internal  dissensions  because  of  the  misery  of  the 
strikers  and  the  violence  of  the  government. 

The  party  organ,  Le  Peuple,  said  on  June  5,  1902 : 
"  We  are  no  longer  in  1848.  The  days  of  barricades 
have  gone  by.  The  narrow  little  streets  of  former 
years  have  expanded  into  wide  avenues.  The  soldiers 
are  armed  with  Albinis  and  Mausers.  Even  if  all  the 
people  were  armed  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  plant 
a  few  cannon  at  strategic  places  in  the  city  to  put  down 
an  insurrection  in  spite  of  the  greatest  heroism  of  the 
insurgents."  9 

Van  Overbergh,  in  his  history  of  the  strike,  says : 
"  The  period  of  romantic  Socialism  in  Belgium  is  past  ; 
the  days  of  realism  have  commenced."  10  And  Ber- 
trand,  the  historian,  adds  the  reason :  "  Its  [the  general 
strike's]  effect  was  to  keep  down  the  vote.  Even  in 
the  elections  of  1904  and  1906  the  vote  has  remained 
quite  stationary."  1X 

Whether  this  means  the  apotheosis  of  the  general 
strike  in  Belgium  will  depend  no  doubt  upon  circum- 
stances, it  is  significant  that  the  words  were  uttered, 
and  still  more  significant  that  political  coalition  has 
taken  the  place  of  industrial  warfare.  The  Liberals 
and  Radicals  now  plan  with  the  Socialists.  They  no 
longer  stand  aside  and  let  the  Socialists  march,  but 
they  join  step  with  them  and  carry  banners. 

The  greatest  of  all  Belgian  demonstrations  for  uni- 
versal suffrage  and  free  schools  took  place  in  August, 

•  BERTRAND,  Histoire,  II,  p.  590. 

10  La  Greve  Generale  Beige  dAvril,  1902,  Brussels,  1902. 

11  Histoire,  II,  p.  592. 


140    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

1911.  In  spite  of  the  extreme  heat,  nearly  200,000 
Radicals,  Liberals,  and  Socialists  gathered  in  the  cap- 
ital, "  not  so  much  to  impress  the  government,"  a  So- 
cialist leader  said  to  me,  "  but  to  impress  the  people 
that  we  are  in  earnest,  and  then  to  prepare  for  the 
coming  elections." 


It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  rapid  survey  of 
its  warfare  for  political  privilege  that  Belgian  Social- 
ism has  forgotten  the  co-operative  movement  and  all 
the  various  activities  that  were  blended  in  the  making 
of  the  Labor  Party.  Belgian  Socialism  is  primarily 
economic.  This  makes  it  unique.  It  has  succeeded 
in  becoming  economic,  in  building  dairies  and  bake- 
shops,  in  running  dry-goods  stores  and  grocery  stores 
and  butcher  shops,  in  the  present  dispensation;  and 
it  has  succeeded  in  doing  so  by  accommodating  itself 
to  the  present  conditions.  It  adopts  the  eight-hour 
day  when  it  can,  but  it  is  not  averse  to  ten  hours  when 
necessary.  It  pays  its  employees  the  highest  wage  it 
can,  but  it  recognizes  talent  and  ability  like  the  bour- 
geois shopkeeper  across  the  street.  It  has  insurance 
funds  that  draw  interest  at  the  same  rate  that  is  paid 
by  bourgeois  banks,  and  it  has  no  scruples  about  put- 
ting the  latest  approved  machinery  into  its  workshops 
and  bakeries. 

In  all  this,  their  activities  have  remained  Socialistic. 
They  compete  with  the  bourgeois,  but  co-operate 
among  themselves.  The  profits  of  their  activities  go 
to  the  members  of  their  societies  and  to  the  party. 
Their  competition  has  brought  ruin  to  the  door  of 
many  a  shopkeeper  who  finds  his  customers  flocking  to 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  141 

their  own  shop.  Government  commissions  have  in- 
quired into  the  movement  at  the  nervous  requests  of 
merchants  and  tradesmen,  but  only  to  find  every  co- 
operative enterprise  carefully  conducted  and  thriving. 

The  Belgian  Socialist  leaders  all  emphasize  the  im- 
portance of  this  unity  of  economic  and  political  ac- 
tivity, and  the  priority  of  the  economic  over  the  po- 
litical. It  has  been  a  splendid  stimulant  for  the  Bel- 
gian workman.  It  has  aroused  him  out  of  the  lethargy 
that  has  been  his  greatest  enemy  for  years.  It  has 
taught  him  to  work  with  others,  the  value  of  mass 
movement,  the  futility  of  separateness.  It  has  schooled 
him,  not  only  in  reading  and  arithmetic,  in  the  night 
classes  established  everywhere;  but  in  business,  in 
weights  and  measures;  in  percentage,  in  profit  and  loss ; 
and,  most  of  all,  in  the  real  hardships  that  meet  trades- 
people and  commercial  men  everywhere  in  their  en- 
deavor to  get  on.  Workingmen  often  think  that  a 
business  man  is  a  necromancer  juggling  profits  out  of 
other  people's  necessities.  The  Belgian  co-operativist 
has  found  out  that  trading  is  a  commonplace  and 
tedious  task  which  requires  constant  alertness  and  is 
merely  the  drudgery  of  detail.  This  experience  has 
taught  him,  moreover,  the  futility  of  laws  and  the 
utility  of  effort.  In  Belgium  I  was  impressed  most  of 
all  by  the  nonchalance,  almost  contempt,  that  the 
workman  displays  toward  mere  legislation.  "  Why 
should  I  toy  with  words  when  I  have  this  ?  "  And  he 
points  proudly  to  his  co-operative  store. 

The  Belgian  workman  has  been  taught  through  his 
co-operative  experience  the  value  of  patient  toil  and 
frugality.  Slowly  he  has  built  up  these  institutions  out 
of  his  own  savings.  When  he  thought  his  scant  wages 
were  barely  enough  for  bread,  he  discovered  means 


142    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

somehow  to  pay  his  dues  in  the  "  Mutualite."  As  an 
instance  of  his  thrift,  he  saves  every  year  a  little  fund 
which  is  used  by  the  family  for  an  annual  holiday, 
usually  a  short  excursion  to  a  neighboring  place  of 
interest.  Every  member  of  the  family  contributes  to 
this  fund,  and,  no  matter  how  poor,  they  look  forward 
to  their  yearly  holiday. 

The  Belgian  Socialist  has  also  been  successful  in 
another  field.  While  in  other  countries  the  Socialists 
have  tried  usually  in  vain  to  lure  the  peasant  and  small 
farmer,  the  Belgians  have  made  constant  progress  in 
this  direction.  The  agrarian  movement  began  with  the 
organizing  of  the  Labor  Party.12 

Vandervelde  and  Hector  Dennis,  a  Professor  of 
Economics  in  the  University  at  Brussels,  have  been 
constant  in  their  zeal  for  the  agrarian  interests. 
Again,  the  lure  is  not  Socialism  in  the  abstract,  nor 
the  gospel  of  discontent.  It  is  practical,  business  co- 
operation. Dairies,  stores,  markets  are  proving  pow- 
erful propagandists,  even  in  the  Catholic  lowlands. 
Dr.  Steffens-Frauenweiler  quotes  from  a  conservative 
newspaper :  "  From  different  sides  we  have  heard 
the  remark  that  Socialism  would  never  penetrate  into 
the  country.  In  contradiction  to  this  opinion  we  must 
observe  that  those  who  express  this  view,  and  pre- 
sume to  laugh  away  the  Socialistic  movement  among 
the  peasants  and  farmers,  are  either  not  well  informed 
or  are  submitting  themselves  to  illusions.  Only  a 
serious  attempt  to  fight  Socialism  through  positive  re- 
forms will  prove  a  lasting  check  upon  the  ambitions 
of  Socialists."  13 

"See  DR.  STEFFENS-FRAUENWEILER,  Der  Agrar-Sozialismus  in 
Beige. 
"  Op.  cit.,  p.  37- 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  143 

In  Belgium  the  general  strike  has  been  used  as  an 
aid  in  the  warfare  for  political  power.  We  have 
seen  how  the  first  strike  was  premature,  the  second 
effective,  and  the  third  proved  a  boomerang  in  its 
reaction  upon  the  Labor  Party. 

Vandervelde  distinguishes  between  the  general  strike 
as  a  means  toward  social  revolution,  and  the  general 
strike  as  a  political  weapon  used  for  securing  a  definite 
object.14  He  says:  "  The  revolutionary  general  strike 
is  itself  the  revolution.  The  reformist  general  strike, 
on  the  contrary,  is  the  attempt  of  the  proletariat  to 
secure  partial  concessions  from  the  government  with- 
out questioning  the  existence  of  the  government,  and 
especially  the  administration  that  represents  the  gov- 
ernment." To  effect  this,  it  is  not  essential  that  all 
the  workmen  go  out,  but  only  enough  to  interrupt 
"  the  normal  course  of  business,  even  if  the  majority 
of  the  workers  remain  at  work."  15 

The  political  general  strike  has  its  example,  then, 
in  the  Belgian  movement  for  the  electoral  franchise. 
Whether  it  would  succeed  in  wresting  other  political 
privileges  from  the  state,  is  conjecture;  that  it  would 
not  succeed  except  under  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions, is  certain. 

The  Belgian  movement  has  displayed  great  absorp- 
tive powers  and  facility  of  adaptation.  It  has  ab- 
sorbed all  the  labor  activities  of  the  Radical  and  So- 
cialist workmen.  It  has  adapted  itself  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  hour,  giving  up  the  daydreams  of  intangible 
things.  In  all  this,  it  has  displayed  a  saneness,  in 

14  See  an  article  by  E.  VANDERVELDE,  "  Der  General  Streik,"  in 
Archiv  fur  Sozial-wissenschaft  und  Sozial-Politik,  Tubingen, 
May,  1908.  The  same  article  was  published,  same  date,  in  Revue 
du  Mois,  Paris. 

u  Supra  cit.,  p.  541. 


144    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

spite  of  its  revolutionary  traditions  and  anarchistic 
blood.18  It  has  the  most  "  modern  "  program  of  the 
European  Socialist  parties,  and  the  most  worldly 
efficiency. 

In  visiting  one  of  the  large  workingmen's  club- 
houses found  in  the  cities,  the  visitor  is  impressed 
with  the  beehive  qualities  of  the  Belgian  movement. 
At  the  "  Maison  du  Peuple  "  in  Brussels — that  was 
built  by  these  underpaid  workmen  at  a  cost  of  1,000,- 
ooo  francs — you  find  activity  everywhere.  The  sav- 
ings-bank department  is  swarming  with  women  and 
children,  come  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  family. 
The  cafe,  the  headquarters  of  the  party,  the  offices 
of  the  co-operative  societies,  all  are  busy.  In  the 
evening  there  are  debates,  gymnasium  contests,  mov- 
ing-picture shows,  classes  for  instruction  in  the  ele- 
mentary branches,  in  art,  and  literature.17  A  temper- 
ance movement,  started  by  the  workmen  some  years 
ago,  has  attained  a  great  deal  of  influence.  Placards 
are  on  the  walls  of  the  clubhouses,  setting  forth  the 
evils  of  the  drink  habit. 

Or  you  visit  a  co-operative  bakery  or  butcher-shop 
or  grocery  store,  and  the  same  spirit  of  diligence, 
thrift,  and  reasonableness  is  there.  And  you  are  quite 

"  Bakunin  had  a  large  following  in  Belgium  during  the  days 
of  the  "  Old  International,"  and  Anarchists  have  never  entirely 
ceased  their  activities  in  the  large  cities. 

17  On  the  walls  of  the  "  Maison  du  Peuple"  you  will  find  noble 
paintings.  Here  labored  Constantine  Meunier,  the  sculptor,  on  his 
notable  "  Monument  au  Travail."  Three  remarkable  sections  of  this 
monument,  "  La  Mine,"  "  L'Industrie,"  "  La  Glebe,"  can  be  seen 
in  the  Gallery  of  Modern  Art,  in  Brussels.  There  are  evidences 
everywhere  of  the  art  interest  of  these  alert  working  people.  One 
of  them,  with  sincere  indignation,  pointed  out  to  me  the  large 
pile  of  stone  that  surmounts  the  heights  of  the  city,  the  Palace  of 
Justice,  completed  in  1883,  and  said  its  "  bourgeois  Babylonian 
hideousness  is  the  high-water  mark  of  bourgeois  taste  in  art  and 
bourgeois  power  in  politics." 


THE  BELGIAN  LABOR  PARTY  145 

convinced  that  here  is  Socialism  approximating  some- 
where near  its  ultimate  form.  If  the  Belgian  Labor 
Party  should  secure  control  of  the  government  to- 
morrow it  would  be  more  competent  to  assume  the 
actual  obligations  of  power  than  would  the  Socialists 
in  any  other  European  country.  For  they  have  not 
built  a  structure  in  mid-air,  with  merely  an  underpin- 
ning of  more  or  less  indifferent  theories. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY 


IT  is  the  constant  complaint  of  the  German  Demo- 
crats that  there  is  no  Liberal  Party  in  Germany.  The 
wars  that  repeatedly  devastated  the  country  during 
past  centuries  drove  property  owners  to  seek  the  pro- 
tection of  a  strong,  centralized  government.  This 
habit  has  survived  the  centuries.  Whenever  the  mid- 
dle  classes  show  signs  of  breaking  away  from  the 
conservatism  of  the  "  Regierung,"  the  Prince  always 
finds  a  way  of  bringing  them  back.  The  Period  of 
R^evolution — 08^0— -endedin  a  comprornifif  *fa»*  <y- 
nored  the  workingmen  and  virtually  left  absolutism 
on  the  throne.  When  the  new  era  dawned,  and  Bis- 
marck, like  a  young  giant,  shaped  the  highways  of 
empire,  he  used  the  Liberals  so  adroitly  that,  when  his 
national  legerdemain  was  accomplished,  they  were  a 
broken  and  impotent  faction,  lost  in  the  conservative 
reaction  of  the  hour. 

Universal  suffrage  for  the  Reichstag  elections  was 
\vrittcn  into  the  Constitution  of  the  new  empire,  not 
because  the  Chancellor  and  his  Prince  loved  democ- 
racy, but  because  the  smaller  states  insisted  upon  this 
safeguard  against  Prussian  omnipotence. 

Democracy  and  Liberalism  have  never  been  strong 
enough  to  break  the  fetters  of  national  habit;  and 
nearly  all  the  democracy,  certainly  all  the  working- 

146 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      147 

man's  democracy,  in  Germany  to-day  is  found  in  the 
Social  Democratic  Party. 

In  order  to  understand  the  development  of  Social 
Democracy  in  Germany,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in 
mind  the  beaureaucratic,  autocratic,  paternalistic  char- 
acter of  the  German  government.1 

It  is  the  German  governmental  policy  to  do  every- 
thing for  the  welfare  of  its  citizens  that  can  be  done; 
and,  in  return,  it  expects  the  people  to  let  the  govern- 
ment alone.  The  medieval  conception  of  class  respon- 
sibility survives.  It  is  the  attitude  of  a  self-righteous 
parent  toward  ignorant  and  wilful  children.  The  gov- 
ernment assumes  the  right,  and  possesses  the  power,  to 
regulate  every  phase  of  the  citizen's  life,  in  domestic, 
industrial,  educational,  moral,  and  political  affairs.  It 
is  a  regal  survival  of  the  theory  that  government  is 
omniscient,  omnipotent,  and  omnipresent. 

Germany  is  a  made-to-order  country  that  clings  to 
medieval  conservatism  in  government;  a  country  that 
is  thoroughly  modern  in  industry  and  distinctly  middle- 
age  in  caste;  where  the  workingman  has  always  been 
treated  with  patronizing  condescension  and  his  politi- 
cal acts  watched  with  jealousy;  and  where  he  has, 
against  great  odds,  determined  to  work  out  his  own 
salvation.  Surrounded  by  preordained  and  rigid  con- 
ditions, he  has  perfected  an  organization  that  is  the 
most  remarkable  example  of  proletarian  achievement 
found  anywhere  in  history.  To  the  development  and 
description  of  this  organization  we  will  now  address 
ourselves. 

German  Social  Democracy,  while  Marxian  in  theory, 
owes  Tts-tteHve.. existence  to  Fardinand  Lassalle^poe. 

1  For  a  comprehensive  description  of  the  German  government, 
see  DAWSON,  Germany  and  the  Germans,  Vol.  I. 


148    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

of  those  brilliant  and  daring  geniuses  who  flash,  in 
an  hour  of  adventure,  across  the  prosaic  days  of  his- 
tory.2 He  was  pronounced  a  Wunderkind  by  William 
von  Humboldt;  dashed  his  way  through  university 
routine ;  attracted  the  friendship  of  poets,  philosophers, 
and  politicians ;  was  lionized  by  society ;  became  a  rev- 
olutionist in  1848,  and  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  . 
indicted  for  inciting  a  mob  of  Diisseldorf  workingmen 
to  acts  of  violence.  He  defended  himself  in  a  brilliant 
speech  which  launched  him  fully  into  the  campaign 
of  the  workingman.3 

Early  in  his  career  he  volunteered  to  defend  the 
cause  of  the  Countess  Hatzfeldt,  whose  unfaithful 
husband  was  squandering  his  estates  and  suffering  her 
to  live  in  want.  Lassalle  fought  the  case  through 
thirty-six  courts  for  nine  years,  and  won  an  ample 
fortune  for  the  countess,  who  became  the  main  finan- 
cial support  of  Lassalle's  campaigns. 

After  his  first  arrest,  Lassalle  was  kept  under  vigi- 
lance by  the  government.  But  finally,  through  the  in- 
terposition of  distinguished  friends,  he  was  allowed 
to  return  to  Berlin.  There,  in  1862,  he  delivered  a 
series  of  addresses  that  soon  brought  him  into  con- 

1  Liebknecht  said,  in  the  Breslau  congress  of  the  Social- 
Democratic  party :  "  Lassalle  is  the  man  in  whom  the  modern 
organized  German  labor  movement  had  its  origin." — "  Sozial- 
Demokratische  Partei-Tag,"  Protokoll,  1895,  p.  66. 

3  For  sketch  of  Lassalle  and  his  work  see  KIRKUP,  History  of 
Socialism,  pp.  72  et  seq. ;  ELY,  French  and  German  Socialism  of 
Modern  Times,  p.  189;  RAE,  Contemporary  Socialism,  pp.  93  ff. 
For  an  extended  account,  see  DAWSON,  German  Socialism  and 
Ferdinand  Lassalle,  London,  1888.  GEORG  BRANDES,  Ferdinand 
Lassalle,  originally  in  Danish,  has  been  translated  into  German, 
1877,  and  into  English,  1911.  Also  see  FRANZ  MEHRING,  Die 
Deutsche  Sozial-Demokratie:  Ihre  Geschichte  und  ihre  Lehre; 
BERNHARD  BECKER,  Geschichte  der  Arbeiter  Agitation  Ferdinand 
i^assalles,  Brunswick,  1874:  this  volume  contains  a  good  detailed 
account  of  Lassalle's  work. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     149 

flict  with  the  police.  His  defense  in  the  court  was 
published  later  under  the  title,  Science  and  the  Work- 
ingman.  This  he  followed  with  a  letter,  Might  and 
Right*  sent  broadcast  over  the  land. 

In  these  two  publications  he  succinctly  enunciated 
his  theory  of  democracy :  "  With  Democracy  alone 
dwells  right,  and  in  Democracy  alone  will  might  be 
found.  No  person  in  the  Prussian  state  to-day  has  the 
right  to  speak  of  '  rights,'  except  the  Democracy,  the 
old  and  true  Democracy.  For  Democracy  alone  has 
constantly  clung  to  the  right,  and  has  never  lowered 
herself  by  compromising  with  might."  5 

In  the  political  turmoil  of  that  period,  when  new 
forces  were  awakening  to  their  power  and  feudal- 
ism, conservatism,  Cobdenism,  and  democracy  were 
all  contending  for  supremacy,  there  were  three  pre- 
dominating currents  of  thought.  The  first  was  natu- 
rally the  feudal,  the  absolutist  that  would  put  down 
by  the  police  power,  and  failing  in  that  by  the  soldiery, 
every  attempt  at  changing  the  organization  of  the  gov- 
ernment. This  was  embodied  in  the  reactionary,  or 
Conservative  Party,  which  held  then,  as  it  still  does, 
the  high  places  in  army  and  government.  Bismarck 
was  its  leader.  It  had  ample  nationalist  aims,  and  was 
called  the  "  Great  German  Party  "  ("  Gross  Deutsch- 
land  ")  ;  Austria  was  included  in  its  ambitions,  and 
monarchic  supremacy  was  the  token  of  its  power.  It 
comprised  the  landowners,  the  nobles,  and  the  agra- 
rians. 

The  second  tendency  was  commercial,  bourgeois.  It 
found  expression  in  the  National  Liberal  Party,  which 
was  liberal  in  name  only.  It  was  the  "  Small  Ger- 

4  Published  in  Zurich,   1863:  Macht  v,nd  Recht. 
'Macht  und  Recht,  p.  13. 


ISO    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

man"  ("Klein  Deutschland  ")  Party,  preferring  the 
ascendency  of  Prussia.  It  comprised  the  enterpris- 
ing traders,  manufacturers,  and  bankers,  and  was 
strongest  in  the  cities.  It  was  attached  to  monarchy, 
cared  little  for  military  or  political  glory,  except  as 
it  affected  trade  and  taxes. 

The  third  tendency  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
other  two.  It  was  the  revolt  of  the  proletarians,  led 
by  men  of  great  ability.  It  was  the  democratic  move- 
ment. It  abhorred  both  the  idea  of  feudal  preroga- 
tive in  government,  as  expressed  by  king  and  noble, 
and  the  vulgar  trade  patriotism,  as  expressed  by  the 
National  Liberals,  the  bourgeoisie.  It  took  its  inspira- 
tion from  France  and  its  example  from  England. 
From  France  came  the  political  platitudes  of  equality 
and  liberty  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  America; 
from  England,  the  example  of  strongly  organized 
trade  unions.  In  Germany  these  two  movements,  eco- 
nomic and  political,  were  blended  into  one. 

Not  that  the  workingman's  movement  was  a  unity. 
Schultze-Delitsch,  the  founder  of  the  German  co-oper- 
ative movement,  contended  that  labor  should  keep  out 
of  politics  and  devote  itself  to  economic  activities 
alone.  Rodbertus,  the  distinguished  economist,  who 
was  potent  in  shaping  economic  and  political  thought 
in  Germany,  wrote  Lassalle,  when  he  was  entreated 
to  join  the  brilliant  agitator's  propaganda,  that  he 
could  "  tolerate  no  political  agitation  which  would  ex- 
cite the  working  classes  against  the  existing  executive 
power."  6 

There  was  no  unity  in  the  theories  of  the  working- 
man's  movement.  The  first  organizations,  the  "  Work- 
ingmen's  Associations,"  were  founded  soon  aft6r  1848, 

'Letter  dated  April  22,  1863. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      151 

as  soon  as  the  laws  gave  a  limited  right  of  association 
to  the  working  class.  The  government  looked  with 
suspicion  on  every  political  act  of  labor,  and  especially 
upon  organizations  for  political  purposes.  The  ban  of 
the  law  was  put  upon  those  organizations  in  July, 
1854,  and  the  right  of  public  meeting  was  greatly 
restricted ;  police  autonomy  increased,  giving  them  ar- 
bitrary power  to  stop  meetings;  and  the  right  of  free 
press  was  virtually  denied.  Democracy  became  a 
movement  of  silent  intrigue  and  occasional  rough  out- 
break. 

At  this  juncture  a  new  political  party  was  organized, 
to  absorb  what  was  "  legal "  in  the  democratic  work- 
ingman's  movement  and  what  was  truly  liberal  in  the 
National  Liberal  Party.  The  new  party  was  called 
Progressist  ( "  Fortschrittler  " ) .  It  was  a  German 
party,  devoted  to  the  Manchester  doctrine :  Free  com- 
merce, free  trade,  free  press,  free  speech ;  freedom  of 
expression  in  every  phase  of  human  activity.  It  was 
laissez-faire  to  the  uttermost  plunged  into  the  reac- 
tionary mass  of  German  politics.  The  economic  issue 
became  freedom  of  contract  versus  feudal  status;  the 
political  issue,  freedom  of  ballot  versus  hereditary  pre- 
rogative. 

The  new  party  began  to  appeal  for  the  workingman's 
support.  Their  lure  of  free  speech  and  freedom  of 
organization  was  not  without  effect.  The  older  work- 
ingmen,  who  were  not  familiar  with  the  teachings  of 
Marx  and  Engels,  and  who  had  not  even  read  Weit- 
ling's  communistic  idealizations,  were  brought,  in  some 
numbers,  into  the  new  party. 

The  younger  and  more  radical  element  in  the  work- 
ingmen's  clubs  were  restless.  In  1862  some  of  them 
had  visited  the  International  Exposition  in  London 


152    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

and  had  talked  with  Marx.  The  fire  of  the  "  Interna- 
tional "  was  kindled.  A  movement  for  calling  a  na- 
tional workingman's  convention  was  started  among 
these  radicals.  The  Progressists  tried  to  check  the 
agitation,  saying  that  every  effort  should  be  directed 
toward  establishing  a  new  Constitution.  But  it  was 
in  vain.  In  Leipsic  a  group  of  radicals  seceded  from 
the  Workingman's  Union  (Arbeiter  Bildungs-Verein), 
and  formed  a  new  organization,  which  they  called 
"  Vorwarts "  (Progress).  These  now  invited  Las- 
salle  to  address  them  on  his  views  of  the  labor  situa- 
tion. 

The  movement  was  opportune,  and  Lassalle's  answer 
is  the  basic  document  of  present-day  Social  Democ- 
racy.7 

There  is  no  salvation  for  the  workingman 
except  through  "  political  freedom,"  he  says.  This 
freedom  demands  laws,  and  to  secure  laws  united 
action  is  essential.  They  must  be  powerful  enough 
to  get  laws  to  their  liking.  This  power  they  will  not 
get  by  being  an  appendix  to  the  Progressists,  for  they 
are  dominated  by  a  trade  doctrine,  not  by  altruistic 
ideals  for  the  oppressed. 

With  a  clearness  that  has  not  been  excelled,  he 
showed  the  dependence  of  economic  upon  political 
power  and  influence.  His  economic  program  was 
none  other  than  Louis  Blanc's  state-subsidized  work- 
shops. It  made  no  great  impression  and  soon  faded 
away.  But  his  bold  plan  of  a  workingman's  party 
fighting  fiercely  for  democracy,  and  for  the  better- 
ment of  the  "  normal  conditions  of  the  entire  work- 

T "  Offentliches  Antwort-schreiben  an  das  Zentral  Committee 
zur  Berufung  eines  Allgemeinen  Deutschen  Arbeiter  Congress 
zu  Leipzig,"  first  published  in  Zurich,  1863. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     153 

ing  classes,"  has  been  developed  to  surprising  per- 
fection. 

The  state,  he  says,  must  be  the  instrument  of  their 
power,  not  the  object  of  their  striving.  They  are  in 
politics,  not  as  politicians,  but  as  proletarians.  "  The 
state  is  nothing  but  the  great  organization,  the  all- 
embracing  association  of  the  working  classes."  No 
"  sustaining  and  helping  hand  "  will  be  their  guide. 
Political  supremacy  is  the  "  only  way  out  of  the  des- 
ert." And  how  win  the  state?  There  is  only  one 
way :  through  universal  suffrage,  democracy.  "  Uni- 
versal suffrage  is  not  only  your  political  but  also  your 
social  foundation  principle,  the  condition  precedent  of 
all  social  help.  It  is  the  only  means  for  bettering  the 
material  conditions  of  the  working  classes." 

Cut  loose  from  Rodbertus  economically,  and  from 
the  Progressists  politically,  Lassalle  was  invited  to 
take  the  leadership  of  the  new  movement,  which  from 
the  start  was  political  rather  than  economic.  He  aimed 
to  organize  the  German  workingmen  into  a  great 
national  party,  so  powerful  that  it  could  control  gov- 
ernments, make  laws,  and  demand  obedience.  But  it 
was  slow  work,  and  to  the  fiery  spirit  of  Lassalle  its 
snail's  pace  was  exasperating.  It  provoked  him  into 
violence  of  speech  which  led  him  everywhere  into 
the  courts  and  into  constant  altercations  with  the 
Crown's  solicitors. 

His  powerful  personality  and  unusually  active  mind 
made  a  profound  impression  everywhere.  At  the  last 
conference  of  his  association  which  he  attended  he 
claimed  the  Bishop  of  Mayence  and  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia as  converts.  The  Bishop,  Baron  von  Ketteler,  was 
indeed  turning  toward  Socialism,  but  not  Lassalle's 
political  Socialism.  He  was  the  founder  of  that  Chris- 


154    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tian  Socialism  which  has  made  the  Catholic  Church 
in  South  Germany  and  the  Rhineland  a  potent  factor 
in  the  labor  movement.  The  King,  whose  conversion 
Lassalle  boldly  announced,  had  only  received  a  dele- 
gation of  Silesian  weavers  who  laid  their  griev- 
ances before  him  and  were  promised  the  royal 
sympathy. 

However,  Lassalle  and  Bismarck  had  formed  a  gen- 
eral liking  for  each  other,  and  the  great  minister  re- 
ceived from  the  brilliant  agitator  many  suggestions 
which  he  later  embodied  in  his  state  insurance  laws. 
Both  Bismarck  and  Lassalle  believed  in  the  power 
of  the  state  for  the  amelioration  of  social  conditions, 
hey  met  several  times  at  the  Chancellor's  solicitation^ 

ind    Bismarck    disclosed   their    conversations    to    the 
eichstag,  on  the  insistence  of  Bebel,  when  the  in- 

urance  bills  were  under  discussion.  The  Chancellor 
expressed  his  admiration  for  the  virility  of  the  Social- 
ist's mind  and  said  he  believed  Lassalle  perfectly  sin- 
cere in  his  purpose.8 

Lassalle  did  not  live  to  see  his  General  Working- 
men's  Association  ("  Allgemeiner  Deutscher  Arbeits- 
verein")  attain  political  power.  He  was  killed  in  a 
duel  over  a  love  affair  August  31,  1864.  His  brilliant 
campaign  for  democracy  had  resulted  in  a  petty  organ- 
ization of  4,610  members. 

Lassalle's  influence  is  increasing  every  year.  His 
death-day  is  celebrated  by  the  German  Socialists 
(Lassalle  Feier).  The  present-day  German  movement 
is  Lassallian  rather  than  Marxian.9 


*In  the  Reichstag,  September  16,  1878. 

9  When  Bernstein  collected  Lassalle's  works  he  wrote  a  sketch 
of  the  agitator's  life  as  a  preface.  A  number  of  years  later, 
1904,  he  published  his  second  sketch,  Ferdinand  Lassalle  and  His 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     155 

In  a  letter  to  Rodbertus,  February,  1864,  Lassalle 
says  that  he  aimed  to  show  the  workingman  "  how 
identical  the  economic  and  the  political  forces  are. 
Every  separation  of  them  is  an  abstraction,  and  I 
believe  that  uniting  the  two  is  the  principal  potency 
which  I  can  give  to  the  cause." 


ii 

The  little  handful  was  soon  rent  by  internal  strife 
and  threatened  with  utter  extinction,  both  by  police 
aggression  and  by  Marxian  competition.  The  year 
Lassalle  died  the  International  Workingman's  Asso- 
ciation was  organized  and  agitation  began  in  Ger- 
many under  the  leadership  of  William  Liebknecht,  a" 
friend  and  disciple  of  Marx.  Liebknecht  was  the 
scholar  of  the  early  Social  Democratic  group.  He 
possessed  a  university  education,  was  a  revolutionist 
in  1848,  a  fugitive  in  Switzerland  and  England  until 
1862.  His  foreign  sojourn  did  not  mellow  his  natu- 
ral dogmatism;  on  the  contrary,  his  long  intercourse 
with  Marx  in  London  hardened  his  orthodoxy.  He 
was  a  powerful  polemist.  However,  alone  he  could 
not  have  organized  a  national  movement.  He  did 
not  possess  the  personal  traits  that  lure.  He  made 
a  notable  convert  when  he  won  August  Bebel,  a  Saxon 
woodturner,  to  his  cause.  "  I  was  Saul  and  became 
Paul,"  Bebel  said  to  me.  The  words  are  not  inapt: 
his  power  is  Pauline.  He  has  been  persecuted  and 
imprisoned,  has  written  speeches  and  epistles,  has  made 

Significance  to  the  Working  Classes,  in  which  he  shifted  his 
position  and  assumed  a  Lassallian  tone.  This  change  of  mind 
is  typical  of  the  Social  Democratic  movement  toward  the 
Lassallian  idea. 


156    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

many  missionary  journeys,  and  kept  constantly  in  in- 
timate touch  with  every  local  phase  of  his  propaganda. 
His  imprisonments  have  undermined  his  health,  but 
they  have  not  diminished  his  mental  vigor;  and  more 
than  once  the  Iron  Chancellor  winced  under  his  fero- 
cious assaults. 

Liebknecht  and  Bebel  were  more  advanced  than  the 
Workingmen's  Association,  which  now  had  fallen 
under  the  leadership  of  Schweitzer,  an  able  but  dis- 
solute disciple  of  Lassalle.  The  two  organizations 
fought  each  other  as  rivals.  The-international  wing, 

.    f  ^^v 

under  Liebknecht  and  Bebel,  irkj86Q,  Jbrganized  the 
Democratic  Workingmen's  Party  at  Eisenach,  and 
were  called  "  Eisenachers."  Their  program  is  of  great 
importance.  It  stated  that  the  first  object  of  the  new 
party  was  the  attaining  of  the  free  state  (Freier  Volk- 
staat).  This  state  Liebknecht  explained  at  his  trial  in 
1872 :  "  The  idea  of  a  free  state  is  interpreted  by  a 
majority  of  our  party  to  mean  a  republic;  but  does  this 
necessarily  imply  that  it  is  to  be  forcibly  introduced? 
No  one  has  expressed  an  opinion  as  to  how  it  is  to 
be  introduced.  Let  a  majority  of  the  people  be 
won  for  our  opinions,  and  the  state  is  of  our  opin- 
ions, for  the  people  are  the  state.  A  state  with- 
out a  king  is  conceivable,  but  not  a  state  without 
a  people.  The  government  is  the  servant  of  the 
people." 

This  free  state,  the  program  continues,  can  be  won 
only  by  political  freedom,  and  political  freedom  is 
the  forerunner  of  economic  freedom.  Demand  is 
therefore  made  for  universal,  equal,  direct  suffrage, 
with  secret  ballot,  for  all  men  twenty  years  of  age, 
in  both  parliamentary  and  municipal  elections.  Other 
leading  demands  were :  direct  legislation ;  the  abolition 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      157 

of  all  privileges,  whether  of  birth,  wealth,  or  religion; 
the  establishment  of  militia  in  place  of  standing 
armies;  the  separation  of  Church  and  state;  the  secu- 
larizing of  education;  the  extension  of  free  schools 
and  compulsory  education;  reform  of  the  courts  and 
extension  of  the  jury  system;  abolition  of  all  laws 
restricting  freedom  of  speech,  of  press,  and  of  asso- 
ciation; the  establishment  of  a  normal  workday;  the 
restriction  of  female,  and  abolition  of  child,  labor;  the 
abolition  of  indirect  taxes;  the  establishment  of  an 
income  and  inheritance  tax;  the  extension  of  state 
credit  for  co-operative  enterprises. 

This  program  sounds  very  modern  and  moderate. 
But  its  expositors  were  not  restrained  to  moderation, 
and  when  the  congress  met  at  Dresden  in  1871  it 
adopted  a  resolution  extolling  the  French  Commune. 
A  great  deal  of  popular  sympathy  was  lost  through 
this  action. 

Meanwhile  the  Lassalle  party  was  slowly  gaining 
ground.  In  1875  tne  two  parties  united  at  Gotha.  i 
There  were  9,000  members  .in  the  Liebknecht  party 
and  15,000  members  in  the  Lassalle  party.  Here  was! 
adopted  the  first  program  of  the  united  German  Social 
Democracy.  Its  economics  are  thoroughly  Marxian 
in  theory  and  are  only  slightly  tinged  by  the  teachings 
of  Lassalle  and  Schultze-Delitsch  in  practice.  Labor, 
it  afBrmed,  was  the  source  of  all  wealth  and  was  held 
under  duress  by  the  capitalistic  class.  Its  only  eman- 
cipation could  come  from  the  social  ownership  of  the 
means  of  production.  The  way  to  this  goal  could  be 
found  through  productive  copartnership  with  state  aid. 
The  political  part  of  the  program  embraced  the  de- 
mands made  at  Eisenach. 

With  its  unity,  a  new  vigor  took  possession  of  the 


158    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

party.  Its  organization  was  perfected;  145  agitators 
were  in  the  field ;  its  twenty-three  newspapers  had  over 
100,000  subscribers.  This  meant  increased  police  vigi- 
lance. All  the  leaders  served  terms  in  prison,  news- 
papers were  suppressed,  organizations  dissolved,  houses 
searched,  agitators  ordered  to  leave  the  country.  The 
government  did  everything  in  its  power  to  suppress 
the  movement.  Every  act  of  oppression  popularized 
the  Democracy  among  the  proletarians.  The  blood  of 
the  martyrs  bore  the  usual  harvest. 

The  new  empire  had  been  launched  amidst  the 
greatest  enthusiasm,  shared  by  every  one  except  the 
discontented  workingmen  who  had  so  stoutly  fought 
for  entire  political  freedom.  The  new  imperial  par- 
liament was  thrown  open  to  them  because  Bismarck 
had  found  it  necessary  to  include  universal  suffrage 
in  the  constitution  of  the  Reichstag.  In  1871  the 
Socialists  elected  two  members,  and  the  feudal  lords 
beheld  the  novel  sight  of  workingmen  sitting  with 
them  in  the  imperial  Diet.  The  voting  strength  of 
the  party  was  124,665.  This  was  increased  to  351,952 
in  1874,  when  nine  members  were  elected.  In  1877 
the  party  cast  493,288  votes,  electing  twelve  members. 
This  was  cause  for  alarm.  The  party  had  now 
reached  fifth  place  in  point  of  votes  among  the  four- 
teen parties  or  factions  that  contended  for  power  in 
Germany,  and  eighth  place  in  point  of  members 
elected.  But  in  point  of  agitation,  of  perfervid  speech 
and  pointed  interpellation,  it  ranked  easily  first.  Its 
delegation  in  1877  included  Bebel  and  Liebknecht, 
now  out  of  jail,  and  Most,  afterwards  the  notorious 
Anarchist  in  America,  and  Hasselman  and  Bracke, 
who  were  not  modest  in  the  expression  of  their 
opinions.  These  representatives  of  democracy  let  no 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     159 

occasion  pass  to  embarrass  the  government  with  pep- 
pery questions. 

Bismarck  was  slowly  evolving  a  scheme  for  check- 
ing the  Socialist  growth  and  satisfying  the  demands 
of  labor  for  better  conditions.  Both  revolved  around 
the  pivot  of  patriarchal  omnipotence.  The  suppression 
was  to  be  accomplished  by  force;  the  gratification, 
by  paternal  rigor. 


in 
He  addressed  hims^i^£3^~tQ^r£Qression.     He  en-. 

nf   Furrjpp   m    IB^T    tfl 

in  stamping  out  Socialism,  but  he  received  no  en- 
couragement. In  1872  Spain,  exasperated  by  the  rev- 
olutionary outbreaks,  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
Powers,  asking  their  co-operation  to  check  the  growth 
of  the  revolutionary  element.  Bismarck  was  ready. 
But  Lord  Granville,  for  England,  said  the  traditions 
of  his  country  were  favorable  to  an  unrestricted  right 
of  residence  for  foreigners  as  long  as  they  violated 
no  law  of  their  host.  This  ended  the  international 
attempt.  Next  (in  1874)  Bismarck  attempted  to 
tighten  the  gag  on  the  press,  but  the  Reichstag  refused 
to  sanction  his  proposals.  Then  he  fell  back  on  ex- 
isting legislation  and  with  great  vigor  enforced  the 
statutes/against  revolutionary  activity.  The  police 
were/given  wide  latitude  in  interpreting  these  laws. 

^everal  acts  of  wanton  violence  now  occurred  which 
brought  about  a  sudden  chaage  of  temper  in  the  people. 
Qn  May  n,  1878,  wjjiteariving  in  Unter  den  Linden, 
^tnjperor  WtUiawTwas  shot  at  by  a  young  man.  The 
Emperor  was  not  struck  by  the  bullets,  but  the  shots 


160    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

were  none  the  less  effective  in  rousing  public  indigna- 
tion. Popular  condemnation  was  turned  against  the 
Social  Democrats  because  photographs  of  Liebknecht 
and  Bebel  were  found  on  the  person  of  the  intended 
assassin.  Two  days  later  Bismarck  introduced  the 
anti-Socialist  laws.  They  were  debated  in  the  Reichs- 
tag, while  Most  was  being  tried  for  libeling  the  clergy. 
But  the  Reichstag  was  not  ready  to  go  to  the  lengths 
of  the  Chancellor's  desire,  and  by  a  vote  of  251  to  57  , 
rejected  his  bill.  Here  the  matter  would  have  rested 
had  not  a  second  attempt  been  made  on  the  life  of  the 
aged  Emperor.  This  occurred  on  June  2,  and  this  * 
time  the  Emperor  was  seriously  wounded. 

Naturally  the  indignation  of  the  nation  was  thor- 
oughly aroused.  In  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  a 
general  election  was  held,  and  Bismarck  won.  His 
own  peculiar  Conservatives  increased  their  delegation 
from  40  to  59,  the  Free  Conservatives  from  38  to 
57;  the  National  Liberals  reduced  their  number  from 
128  to  99,  the  Liberals  from  13  to  10,  the  Progress- 
ists from  35  to  26.  The  Socialists  retained  nine 
seajts,  losing  three^  their  vote  fell  from  493,288  to 

437,158. 

-   Immediately  a  repressive  law  was  introduced.     It 

was  called  "  a  law  against  the  publicly  dangerous 
activities  of  the  Social  Democracy  (Gesetz  gegen  die 
gemein-gefahrlichen  Bestrebungen  der  Sozial-Demo- 
kratie).10 

Bismarck  prefaced  his  law  with  a  very  clever  pro- 
logue (Begriindung).  In  simple  language  he  arraigned 
the  Social  Democracy  as  being,  first,  anti-social,  be- 
cause it  aims  at  the  modern  system  of  production,  and 

"The  law  is  reprinted  in  MEHRING,  Die  Deutsche  Sozial- 
Demokratie. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      161 

does  so,  not  through  "  humanitarian  motives,"  but 
through  revolution;  second,  as  anti-patriotic,  because 
it  makes  "  the  most  odious  attacks  "  on  the  German 
Empire.  "  The  law  of  preservation  therefore  compels 
the  state  and  society  to  oppose  the  Social  Democratic 
movement  with  decision.  .  .  .  True,  thought  can- 
not be  repressed  by  external  compulsion;  the  move- 
ments of  minds  can  only  be  overcome  in  intellectual 
combat.  But  when  movements  take  wrong  pathways 
and  threaten  destruction,  the  means  for  their  growth 
can  and  should  be  taken  away  by  legal  means.  The  So- 
cialist agitation,  as  carried  on  for  years,  is  a  continual 
appeal  to  violence  and  to  the  passions  of  the  multi- 
tudes, for  the  purpose  of  subverting  the  social  order. 
The  state  can  check  such  a  movement  by  depriving 
Social  Democracy  of  its  principal  means  of  propa- 
ganda, and  by  destroying  its  organization ;  and  it  must 
do  so  unless  it  is  willing  to  surrender  its  existence,  and 
unless  the  conviction  is  to  spread  amongst  the  people 
that  either  the  state  is  impossible  or  the  aims  of  Social 
Democracy  are  justifiable.11 

The  law  was  passed  against  the  vehement  protest 
of  the  Socialists.  They  disclaimed  any  connection 
with  the  dastardly  attempts  on  the  life  of  the  aged 
Emperor.  I5ebel,  in  an  impressive  speech,  declared 
that  while  Socialists  do  "  wish  to  abolish  the  present 
form  of  private  property  in  the  factors  of  production, 
labor,  and  land,"  they  had  never  been  guilty  of  de- 
stroying a  penny V  worth  of  property.  Nor  did  they 
aim  to  do  so.  It  was  the  system  of  private  ownership 
of  great  properties,  that  enabled  a  few  to  oppress  the 
many,  that  they  were  fighting.  And  here  they  were 

11  See  DAWSON,  German  Socialism  and  Ferdinand  Lassalle, 
pp.  251  ff.,  for  a  discussion  of  this  law. 


162    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

in  good  company:  Rodbertus,  Rosher,  Wagner, 
Schaeffle,  Brentano,  Schmoller,  and  a  host  of  other 
scholars  and  economists,  Bebel  affirmed,  were  Socialis- 
tic in  their  tendencies. 

Bismarck  was  unyielding.  He  said  he  would  wel- 
come any  real  effort  to  alleviate  harsh  conditions.  But 
the  Socialists  were  a  party  of  destruction  and  were 
enemies  to  mankind. 

The  leader  of  the  Progressists  said,  "  I  fear  Social 
Democracy  more  under  this  law  than  without  it." 
The  vote  of  221  to  149  in  favor  of  the  law 
showed  the  grim  Chancellor's  sway  over  the  as- 
sembly. 

The  law  made  clean  work  of  it.  It  forbade  all 
organizations  which  promulgated  views  controvening 
the  existing  social  and  political  order.  It  prohibited 
the  collecting  of  money  for  campaign  purposes;  put 
the  ban  on  meetings,  processions,  and  demonstrations ; 
on  publications  of  all  kinds,  confiscating  the  existing 
stock  of  prohibited  books;  and  created  a  status  akin 
to  martial  law  by  endowing  the  police  authorities  with 
the  power  of  declaring  a  locality  in  a  "  minor  state 
of  siege,"  and  exercising  arbitrary  authority  for  one 
year. 

A  commission  was  appointed  by  the  Chancellor  to 
carry  out  these  inquisitions,  and  the  war  between 
Socialistic  democracy  and  medieval  autocracy  was  on. 
Its  events  are  instructive  to  every  government;  its 
sequel  a  warning  to  all  nations.12 

The  government  organized  its  commission;  the  So- 
cialists met  at  Hamburg  to  consider  the  situation. 
They  determined  to  perfect  their  organization,  to 

a  A  good  description  of  the  working  of  this  law  is  found  in 
DAWSON,  Germany  and  the  Germans,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  XXXVII. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     163 

promulgate  a  secret  propaganda,  and  to  use  the  tribune 
in  the  Reichstag  as  the  one  open  pulpit  whence  they 
could  proclaim  their  wrongs. 

The  government  promptly  declared  Berlin  in  a 
"  minor  state  of  siege."  In  the  course  of  a  few  months 
about  fifty  agitators  were  expelled,  bales  of  literature 
confiscated,  organizations  dissolved,  meetings  dis- 
missed, gatherings  prohibited,  and  the  Socialist  agita- 
tion pushed  into  cellars  and  back  rooms. 

But  there  was  one  tribune  which  the  Chancellor 
could  not  close — the  Reichstag  tribune.  Here  Bebel 
and  Liebknecht  talked  to  the  nation,  and  their  speeches 
were  given  circulation  through  the  records  of  debate. 
Prince  Bismarck,  in  his  extremity,  tried  to  muzzle  the 
Socialist  members  and  expunge  their  words  from  the 
records;  but  the  members  of  the  Reichstag  refused  this 
extreme  measure.  Then  Bismarck  asked  permission  _ 
to  imprison  Hasselman  and  e.xpel  Fritzche  from  Berlin. 
These  two  deputies  had  been  especially  vituperative 
in  their  attacks  upon  the  law.  The  Chancellor  claimed 
that  the  famous  Section  28  of  the  anti-Socialist  law 
authorizing  the  minor  state  of  siege  extended  to  mem- 
bers of  the  Reichstag.  But  the  House,  under  the  vehe- 
ment leadership  of  Professor  Gneist,  the  distinguished 
constitutional  lawyer,  refused  to  sanction  this  dan- 
gerous measure  on  the  ground  that  the  thirty-first 
article  of  the  federal  Constitution  exempted  members 
of  the  Reichstag  from  arrest. 

Bismarck  soon  had  another  plan  for  ridding  himself 
of  the  Socialist  nettles  in  the  Reichstag.  He  intro- 
duced a  bill  creating  a  parliamentary  court  chosen  by 
the  House,  who  should  have  the  power  to  punish  any 
member  guilty  of  parliamentary  indiscretion.  The  bill 
also  empowered  the  House  to  prevent  the  publication 


164    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

of  any  of  its  proceedings  if  it  desired.  The  Reichstag 
also  refused  to  sanction  this  measure. 

The  assassination  of  Czar  Alexander  of  Russia  in 
March,  1881,  gave  Bismarck  the  opportunity  to  renew 
his  efforts  to  quell  Socialism  and  Anarchism  by  in- 
ternational concert.  He  asked  Russia  to  take  the  ini- 
tiative, and  a  conference  was  called  at  Brussels  to 
which  all  the  leading  states  were  invited.  Germany 
and  Austria  eagerly  accepted,  France  made  her  par- 
ticipation dependent  on  England's  action,  and  Eng- 
land refused  to  participate.  Bismarck  next  tried  to 
form  an  Eastern  league,  but  Austria  failed  him  and 
he  had  to  content  himself  with  an  extradition  treaty 
with  Russia. 

Bismarck  now  fell  back  on  his  Socialist  law.  He 
enforced  it  with  vigor,  extending  the  minor  state  of 
siege  to  Altona,  Leipsic,  Hamburg,  and  Harburg. 
His  commission  reported  yearly.  Its  words  were  not 
reassuring.  In  1882  it  said :  "  The  situation  of  the 
Social  Democratic  movement  in  Germany  and  other 
civilized  countries  is  unfortunately  not  such  as  to 
encourage  the  hope  that  it  is  being  suppressed  or 
weakened."  The  Minister  of  the  Interior  said  to  the 
Reichstag :  "  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  it  has  not  been 
possible  by  means  of  the  law  of  October,  1878,  to 
wipe  Social  Democracy  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  or 
even  to  strike  it  to  the  center."  13 

The  duration  of  the  law  had  been  fixed  at  two  years. 
At  the  end  of  each  term  it  was  renewed,  each  time 
with  diminishing  majorities.  Meanwhile  the  rigor  of 
the  law  was  not  diminished.  The  minor  state  of  siege 
was  extended  to  other  centers,  including  Stettin  and 

"December  14,  1882. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      165 

OffenbacK.  Meetings  were  suppressed  everywhere,  and 
dismissed  often  for  the  most  trivial  reasons.  The 
police  were  given  the  widest  powers  and  exercised 
them  in  the  narrowest  spirit.14  "  A  hateful  system  of 
persecution,  espionage,  and  aggravation  was  estab- 
lished, and  its  victims  were  the  classes  most  susceptible 
to  disaffection."  15 

On  the  unique  index  expurgatorius  of  the  govern- 
ment were  over  a  thousand  titles,  including  the  works 
of  the  high  priests  of  the  party,  the  poetry  of  Herwegh, 
the  romances  of  Von  Schweitzer,  the  photographs  of 
the  favorite  Socialist  saints,  over  eighty  newspapers 
and  sixty  foreign  journals.  Bales  of  interdicted  litera- 
ture were  smuggled  in  from  Switzerland  to  feed  the 
morose  and  disaffected  mind  of  the  German  working- 
man. 

I  can  find  no  record  of  how  many  arrests  were  made. 
Bebel  reported  to  the  party  convention  in  1890  that 
1,400  publications  of  all  kinds  had  been  interdicted 
and  that  1,500  persons  had  been  imprisoned,  serving 
an  aggregate  of  over  one  thousand  years.16  Every  trial 
was  a  scattering  of  the  seeds,  and  every  imprisoned 

""At  a  large  Berlin  meeting  a  speaker  innocently  used  the 
word  commune  (parish),  whereupon  the  police  officer  in  con- 
trol, thinking  only  of  the  Paris  Commune,  at  once  dismissed  the 
assembly,  and  a  thousand  persons  had  to  disperse  into  the 
streets  disappointed  and  embittered.  .  .  .  '  Militarism  is  a  ter- 
rible mistake,'  said  a  speaker  at  an  election  meeting,  which 
legally  should  have  been  beyond  police  power,  and  at  these 
words,  further  proceedings  were  forbidden  and  several  persons 
were  arrested.  The  Socialist  deputy  Bebel,  in  addressing  some 
workingmen  on  economical  questions,  said  that  '  In  the  textile 
industry  it  happens  that  while  the  wife  is  working  at  the  loom, 
the  husband  sits  at  home  and  cooks  dinner,'  and  the  meeting  was 
dismissed  immediately." — DAWSON,  Germany  and  the  Germans, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  190-1. 

15  DAWSON,  supra  cit.,  p.  192. 

"Protokoll  des  Partei-Tages,  1890,  p.  30. 


166    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

or  exiled  comrade  became  a  hero.  The  awkwardness 
of  the  government  was  matched  against  the  adroitness 
of  the  propagandists.  A  good  deal  of  terror  was 
spread  among  the  people,  stories  of  sudden  uprisings 
and  bloody  revolutions  were  told.  Even  the  National 
Liberals  lost  their  heads  at  times.  But  Bebel  was 
always  superbly  cool.  This  woodturner  devel- 
oped into  one  of  the  ablest  political  generals  of  his 
time. 

Persecuted  and  pressed  into  underground  channels 
of  activity  the  party  persisted  in  growing.  In  1880 
it  rid  itself  of  the  violent  revolutionary  faction  led 
by  Most  and  Hasselman. 

In  the  elections  of  1881  the  Socialists  gained  three 
deputies,  but  their  popular  vote  was  reduced  over 
125,000.  In  the  next  election,  1884,  they  won  twenty- 
four  seats  and  polled  549,990  votes;  two  out  of  six 
seats  in  Berlin  were  won,  and  one-tenth  of  the  voters 
in  the  land  were  rallied  under  the  red  flag.  The  police 
were  alarmed  and  the  law  was  enforced  with  renewed 
energy. 

With  this  powerful  backing  Liebknecht  asked  the 
repeal  of  the  "  Explosives  Act."  A  violent  debate 
took  place.  Liebknecht  said :  "  I  will  tell  you  this : 
we  do  not  appeal  to  you  for  sympathy.  The  result 
is  all  the  same  to  us,  for  we  shall  win  one  way  or 
another.  Do  your  worst,  for  it  will  be  only  to  our 
advantage,  and  the  more  madly  you  carry  on  the 
sooner  you  will  come  to  an  end.  The  pitcher  goes  to 
the  well  until  it  breaks."  1T 

Bebel  roused  all  the  fury  of  Bismarck  when  he 
warned  him  that  if  Russian  methods  were  imported 
there  would  be  murder.  In  July  of  this  year  ( 1886) 

"Reichstag  debates,  April  2,  1886. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY      167 

at  Freiburg  occurred  the  memorable  trial  of  nine  So- 
cialist leaders,  including  Bebel,  Dietz,  Von  Vollmar, 
Auer,  Frohme,  and  Viereck,  charged  with  participat- 
ing in  an  illegal  organization.  All  were  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  terms  varying  from  six  to  nine 
months. 

Preceding  the  election  of  1887  the  Reichstag  had 
been  dissolved  on  the  army  bill.  The  patriotic  issue, 
always  effective,  was  made  the  universal  appeal  by 
the  government.  In  spite  of  this  the  Social  Democrats 
polled  763,128  votes,  a  gain  of  213,128.  Saxony  had 
succeeded  in  holding  down  the  vote  to  150,000;  but  in 
Prussia  the  result  was  startling;  in  Berlin  forty  per 
cent,  of  the  voters  were  Social  Democrats.  With  all 
their  voting  strength  the  party  elected  only  eleven 
members  to  the  Reichstag.  With  proportional  repre- 
sentation they  would  have  elected  forty.  The  Bis- 
marck Conservatives  returned  forty-one  members  with 
fewer  votes  than  the  Socialists. 

Finally  (n  iSgojcame  the  end  of  this  farce.  It 
was  also  the"  end  of  the  chancellorship  of  Bismarck. 
His  old  Emperor  had  died,  and  a  young  and  daring- 
hand  was  at  the  helm.  Bismarck  proposed  to  embody 
the  anti-Socialist  laws  permanently  in  the  penal  code. 
This  might  have  passed;  but  he  also  proposed  to  exile 
offenders,  not  merely  from  the  territory  under  minor 
siege,  but  from  the  Fatherland.  This  expatriation 
the  Assembly  would  not  brook  and  the  Reichstag  was 
prorogued. 

The  Socialists  left  parliament  with  eleven  members, 
they  returned  with  thirty-five;  they  left  with  760,000 
mandates,  they  returned  with  1,500,000,  more  votes 
than  any  other  party  could  claim,  and  on  a  propor- 
tional basis  eighty-five  seats  would  have  been  theirs. 


168    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Bebel  was  justified  in  saying  in  the  Reichstag,  "  The 
Chancellor  thought  he  had  us,  but  we  have  him." 

When  midnight  sounded  on  the  last  day  of  the 
existence  of  the  oppressive  law,  great  throngs  of  work- 
ingmen  gathered  in  the  streets  of  the  larger  cities,  to 
sing  their  Marseillaise,  cheer  their  victory,  and  wave 
their  red  flag.  Now  they  could  breathe  again. 

For  the  first  time  in  thirteen  years  they  met  in 
national  convention  on  German  soil.  The  veteran 
Liebknecht,  recounting  their  hardships  and  sacrifices, 
raised  his  voice  in  jubilant  phrase :  "  Our  opponents 
did  not  spare  us,  and  we,  too  proud  and  too  strong  to 
prove  cowardly,  struck  blow  for  blow,  and  so  we 
have  conquered  the  odious  law."  18 


IV 

During  the  enforcement  of  the  anti-Socialist  law 
Bismarck  began  the  second  part  of  his  policy.  He 
would  repress  with  one  hand,  with  the  other  he  would 
placate.  In  1883  he  introduced  his  sickness  insurance 
bill,  followed  in  1884-85  by  his  accident  insurance,  and 
in  1889  by  his  old-age  pension  act.19 

It  is  not  unnatural  that  these  measures  were  op- 
posed by  the  Social  Democrats.  They  had  no  love 
for  the  Chancellor.  The  Dresden  congress  decided 
to  "  reject  state  Socialism  unconditionally  so  long  as 
it  is  inaugurated  by  Prince  Bismarck  and  is  designed 
to  support  the  government  system."  Bismarck  "  had 

18  Protokoll  des  Partei-Tages,  1890,  pp.  11-12. 

"For  discussion  of  German  industrial  insurance,  see  W.  H. 
DAWSON,  Bismarck  and  State  Socialism,  also  J.  ELLIS  BARKER, 
Modern  Germany. 


THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY     169 

sown  too  much  wind  not  to  reap  a  whirlwind."  He 
had  planted  hatred  in  the  hearts  of  the  workingmen; 
he  could  not  hope  to  reap  respect  and  affection. 

Bismarck  believed  that  Socialism  existed  because 
the  laboring  man  was  not  sufficiently  interested  in  the 
state.  He  had  no  property,  and  was  not  enlightened 
enough  to  appreciate  the  intangible  benefits  of  sov- 
ereignty. In  1880  German  trade  had  reached  a  low 
ebb.  Agriculture  had  fallen  into  decay.  German 
peasants  and  workingmen  were  emigrating  to  Amer- 
ica by  the  tens  of  thousands.,  jBismarck  promulgated 
his  industrial  insurance,  first,  to  placate  the  working- 
man;  second,  to  restore  prosperity  to  German  in- 
dustry. 

As  a  result  of  his  policy  Germany  is  to-day  the  most 
"  socialized  "  state  in  Europe.  Here  a  workingman 
may  begin  life  attended  by  a  physician  paid  by  the 
state;  he  is  christened  by  a  state  clergyman;  he  is 
taught  the  rudiments  of  learning  and  his  handicraft  by 
the  state.  He  begins  work  under  the  watchful  eye  of 
a  state  inspector,  who  sees  that  the  safeguards  to 
health  and  limb  are  strictly  observed.  He  is  drafted 
by  the  state  into  the  army,  and  returns  from  the  rigor 
of  this  discipline  to  his  work.  The  state  gives  him  li- 
cense to  marry,  registers  his  place  of  residence,  follows 
him  from  place  to  place,  and  registers  the  birth  of  his 
children.  If  he  falls  ill,  his  suffering  is  assuaged  by 
the  knowledge  that  his  wife  and  children  are  cared 
for  and  that  his  expenses  will  be  paid  during  illness; 
and  he  may  spend  his  convalescent  days  in  a  luxurious 
state  hospital.  If  he  falls  victim  to  an  accident  the 
dread  of  worklessness  is  removed  by  the  ample  in- 


10  R.  MEYER,  Der  Emancipations-Kampf  des  Vierten  Standes, 
475- 


170    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

surance  commanded  by  the  state  even  if  his  injury 
permanently  incapacitates  him.  If  he  should  unfor- 
tunately become  that  most  pitiful  of  all  men,  the  man 
out  of  work,  the  state  and  the  city  will  do  all  in  their 
power  to  find  employment  for  him.  If  he  wanders 
from  town  to  town  in  search  of  work  the  city  has 
its  shelter  (Herberge)  to  welcome  him;  if  he  wishes 
to  move  to  another  part  of  his  town  the  municipal 
bureau  will  be  glad  to  help  him  find  a  suitable  house, 
or  may  even  loan  him  money  for  building  a  house 
of  his  own.  If  he  is  in  difficulty  the  city  places  a 
lawyer  at  his  disposal.  If  he  is  in  a  dispute  with  his 
employer  the  government  provides  a  court  of  arbitra- 
tion. If  he  is  sued  or  wishes  to  sue  his  employer,  he 
does  so  in  the  workingmen's  court  (Gewerbe  Gericht). 
If  he  wishes  recreation,  there  is  the  city  garden;  if 
he  wishes  entertainment  let  him  go  to  the  public  con- 
cert; if  he  wishes  to  improve  his  mind  there  are 
libraries  and  free  lectures.  And  if  by  rare  chance, 
through  the  grace  of  the  state's  strict  sanitary  regula- 
tions and  by  thrift  and  care,  he  reaches  the  age  of 
seventy,  he  will  find  the  closing  days  of  his  long  life 
eased  by  a  pension,  small,  very  small,  to  be  sure,  but 
yet  enough  to  make  him  more  welcome  to  the  relatives 
or  friends  who  are  charged  with  administering  to  his 
wants.21 


11  See  Appendix  for  table  showing  cost  of  industrial  insurance. 

In  Germany  the  state  owns  railways,  canals,  river  trans- 
portation, harbors,  telephones,  telegraph,  and  parcels  post.  Banks, 
insurance,  savings  banks,  and  pawnshops  are  conducted  by  the 
state.  Municipalities  are  landlords  of  vast  estates,  they  are 
capitalists  owning  street  cars,  gas  plants,  electric  light  plants, 
theaters,  markets,  warehouses.  They  have  hospitals  for  the 
sick,  shelters  for  the  homeless,  soup-houses  for  the  hungry, 
asylums  for  the  weak  and  unfortunate,  nurseries  for  the  babies, 
homes  for  the  aged,  and  cemeteries  for  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY  AND 
LABOR  UNIONS 


BEFORE  we  proceed  to  describe  the  present  organi- 
zation of  the  Social  Democratic  Party  it  will  be  nec- 
essary to  say  a  few  words  about  the  organization  of 
labor  in  Germany.1  There  are  four  kinds  of  labor 
unions :  the  Social  Democrat  or  free  unions,  the  Hirsch- 
Duncker  or  radical  unions,  the  Christian  or  Roman 
Catholic  unions,  and  the  Independent  unions.  All 
except  the  last  group  have  special  political  significance ; 
and  only  the  Independents  confine  themselves  purely  to 
economic  activity.  The  Socialist  unions  are  called 
"Reds,"  the  Independents  "Yellow,"  the  Christians 
"  Black." 

The  Hirsch-Duncker  unions  were  the  first  in  the 
field.  They  were  organized  in  1868  by  Dr.  Hirsch 
and  Herr  Franz  Duncker,  for  the  purpose  of  winning 
the  labor  vote  for  the  Progressists.  Dr.  Hirsch  went 
to  England  for  his  model,  but  the  political  bias  he 
imparted  to  the  unions  was  very  un-English.  They 
have  grown  less  political  and  more  neutral  in  every 
aspect,  probably  because  political  radicalism  has 

_ 1  See  MEYER,  Emancipations-Kampf  des  Vierten  Standes, 
Chap.  V;  also  J.  SCHMOELE,  Die  Sosial-Demokratische  Gewerk- 
schaften  in  Deutschland,  seit  dent  Erlasse  des  Sozialistischen 
Gesets,  Jena,  1896,  et  seq. 

171 


172    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

dwindled,  and  because  they  contain  a  great  many  of 
the  most  skilled  of  German  workmen,  the  machinists. 
They  are  a  sort  of  aristocracy  of  labor,  prefer  peace 
to  war,  and  hesitate  long  before  striking. 

The  Christian  unions  are  strongest  in  the  Rhine 
valley  and  the  Westphalian  mining  districts.  They 
are  the  offspring  of  Bishop  Kettler's  workingmen's 
associations,  organized  to  keep  the  laborer  in  harmony 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  They  have  under- 
gone a  great  deal  of  change  since  the  days  of  the 
distinguished  bishop,  and  are  now  modeled  after  strict 
trade-union  principles.  They  retain  their  connection 
with  the  Church  and  the  Center  Party  (the  Roman 
Catholic  group  in  the  Reichstag).  For  some  years 
there  has  been  a  restlessness  among  these  unions. 
The  more  militant  members  are  protesting  against 
the  influence  of  the  clergy  in  union  affairs,  and  de- 
mand that  laborers  lead  labor. 

The  "  Yellow  "  unions  stand  in  bad  repute  among 
the  others.  They  are  for  peace  at  any  price.  Their 
membership  is  largely  composed  of  the  engineering 
trades;  and  they  are  usually  under  contract  not  to 
strike,  but  settle  their  differences  by  arbitration.  The 
employing  firms  contribute  liberally  to  their  union 
funds. 

By  far  the  largest  unions  are  the  Social  Democratic 
or  "  Free  "  unions.  They  embrace  over  eighty  per 
cent,  of  all  organized  labor.  Their  growth  has  been 
very  rapid  during  the  last  twenty  years.  In  1890,  when 
the  Socialist  law  was  lifted,  they  numbered  a  little 
over  250,000;  in  1910  they  numbered  nearly 
2,000,000. 

As  organizations,  the  Social  Democratic  unions  pos- 
sess all  the  perfection  of  detail  and  painstaking  crafts- 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    173 

manship  for  which  the  Germans  are  justly  celebrated.2 
Not  the  minutest  detail  is  omitted;  everything  is  done 
to  contribute  to  the  solidarity  of  the  working  classes. 
The  theory  of  the  German  labor  movement  is,  that 
physical  environment  is  the  first  desideratum.  A  well- 
housed,  well-groomed,  well-fed  workman  is  a  better 
fighter  than  a  hungry,  ragged  man ;  and  it  is  for  fight- 
ing that  the  unions  exist.  The  bed-rock  of  the  Ger- 
man workingman's  theory  is  the  maxim :  "  First,  be  a 
good  craftsman,  and  all  other  things  will  be  added 
unto  you." 

These  unions  strive  to  do  everything  within  their 
power  to  make,  first,  a  good  workman;  second,  a 
comfortable  workman.  This  naturally,  without  arti- 
ficial stimulants,  brings  the  solidarity,  the  class  patriot- 
ism, which  is  the  source  of  the  zeal  and  energy  of 
these  great  fighting  machines.  In  all  of  the  larger 
towns  they  own  clubhouses  (Gewerkschaftshauser), 
which  are  the  centers  of  incessant  activity.  They 
contain  assembly  halls,  restaurants,  committee  rooms, 
and  lodgings  for  journeymen  and  apprentices  (Wan- 
der-bursche)  seeking  work.  There  are  night  classes, 
public  lectures,  educational  excursions,  and  circulating 
libraries.  In  Berlin  the  workingmen  have  organized  a 
theater.8 

1  The  following  table  compiled  from  Statistisches  Jahrbuch 
shows  their  growth  in  recent  years: 


Year 
1002 
1003 
1904 
1905 

Members 
733,206 
887,698 
1,052,108 
1,344,803 

Year 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 

Members 
1,689,709 
1,865,506 

1,831,731 
1,892,568 

In  1909  their  income  was  50,529,114  marks,  their  expenditure 
46,264,031  marks.  See  Appendix,  p.  295,  for  membership  of  all  the 
unions. 

8  When  I  visited  the  Berlin  Gewerkschaftshaus,  a  model  three- 
room  dwelling — living  room,  kitchen,  and  bedroom — had  been 


174 

The  workingman  has  a  genuine  sympathy  for  his 
union.  It  enlists  his  loyalty  as  much  as  his  country 
enlists  his  patriotism.  He  finds  social  and  intellectual 
intercourse,  sympathy  and  responsiveness  in  his  union. 
He  saves  from  his  frugal  wages  to  support  the  union 
and  to  swell  the  funds  in  its  war-chest.  He  is  never 
allowed  to  forget  that  he  is  first  a  workingman,  and 
owes  his  primary  duties  to  his  family  and  his 
union.4 

This  vast  and  perfect  organization  of  labor  has  a 
complete  understanding  with  the  Social  Democratic 
party,  but  it  is  not  an  integral  part  of  the  party.  When 
the  unions  began  to  revive,  after  the  repeal  of  the  anti- 
Socialist  law,  there  was  a  short  and  severe  struggle 
between  the  party  and  the  unions  for  control.  The 
victory  of  the  unions  for  complete  autonomy  was  de- 
cisive. Since  then  good  feeling  and  harmony  have 
prevailed.  The  governing  committees  of  the  two 
bodies  meet  for  consultation,  the  powerful  press  of 
the  party  fights  the  union's  battles,  and  often  party 
headquarters  are  in  the  union's  clubhouse.  They  are 
virtually  two  independent  branches  of  the  same  move- 
ment. 

In  the  national  triennial  convention  of  the  Social 
Democratic  unions  at  Hamburg,  1908,  a  speaker  said: 

furnished  and  decorated  in  simple,  durable,  and  artistic  fashion. 
This  exhibit  was  thronged  with  workingmen,  their  wives  and 
daughters. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  discovered  that  the  youth  of  the 
working  people  were  reading  cheap  and  unworthy  literature. 
The  Central  Committee  of  the  Unions  now  issues  cheap  editions 
of  the  choicest  literature  for  children  and  young  people. 

These  two  incidents  show  the  vigilance  of  the  unions,  in 
looking  after  all  the  wants  of  their  people. 

*  The  number  of  strikes  in  recent  years  are  given  as  follows : 
1902,  1,106;  1903,  1,444;  1904,  1,990;  1905,  2,657;  1906,  3,626; 
1907,  2,512;  1908,  1,524. — From  Statistisches  Jahrbuch  fur  das 
Deutsche  Reich. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    175 

"  We  can  say  with  truth  that  to-day  there  are  no 
differences  of  a  fundamental  nature  between  the  two 
great  branches  [the  Social  Democratic  unions  and 
the  Social  Democratic  Party]  of  the  labor  move- 
ment." 5 

Bebel  has  said  of  the  relation  between  the  unions 
and  the  party :  "  Every  workingman  should  belong  to 
the  union,  and  should  be  a  party  man;  not  merely  as 
a  laboring  man,  but  as  a  class-conscious  (Classen- 
bewustsein)  laboring  man;  as  a  member  of  a  govern- 
mental and  a  social  organization  which  treats  and 
maltreats  him  as  a  laboring  man." 6  This  is 
the  class  spirit  of  Socialism,  carried  into  practical 
effect. 

In  Germany,  then,  the  vast  bulk  of  organized  labor 
is  co-operating  voluntarily  with  the  Social  Democratic 
Party. 

ii 

And  what  is  the  present  organization  of  the  Social 
Democratic  Party?  It  is  the  most  perfect  party 
machine  in  the  world.  It  is  organized  with  the  most 
scrupulous  regard  for  details  and  oiled  with  the  ex- 
uberance of  a  class  spirit  that  is  emerging  from  its 
narrowness  and  is  finding  room  for  its  expanding 
powers  in  the  practical  affairs  of  national  and  munic- 
ipal life.  The  only  approach  to  it  is  the  faultless, 
silently  moving,  highly  polished  mechanism  devised 
by  the  English  gentry  to  control  the  political  destinies 
of  the  British  Empire.  Our  American  parties  are 
crude  compared  with  the  noiseless  efficacy  of  the  Eng- 

"Protokoll:  Sozial-Demokratische  Partei-Tag,  1908,  p.  14. 
8  See     Bebel,     Gewerksbewegung    und     Politische     Parteien: 
Preface. 


176    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

lish  machine,  or  the  remorseless  yet  enthusiastic  and 
entirely  effective  operation  of  the  German  Social 
Democracy. 

Every  detail  of  the  workingman's  life  is  embraced 
in  this  remarkable  political  organization.  Every  vil- 
lage and  commune  has  its  party  vigilance  committee. 
A  juvenile  department  brings  up  the  youth  in  the 
principles  of  the  Social  Democracy.  The  party  press 
includes  seventy-six  daily  papers,  some  of  them  bril- 
liantly edited,  a  humorous  weekly,  and  several  monthly 
magazines.  This  press  co-operates  with  the  trade 
journals.  Some  of  these — notably  the  masons'  jour- 
nal and  the  ironworkers'  journal — have  a  vast  cir- 
culation, numbering  many  hundred  thousand  sub- 
scribers. 

The  party  propaganda  is  stupendous.  In  1910  over 
14,000  meetings  were  held,  and  over  33,000,000  circu- 
lars and  2,800,000  brochures  were  distributed.  Every 
workingman,  every  voter,  was  personally  solicited  dur- 
ing the  campaign  just  closed  (January,  1912).  Com- 
mittees and  sub-committees  were  everywhere  in  this 
national  beehive  of  workers.  Women  and  children 
were  enlisted  in  the  work. 

The  national  party  is  controlled  by  an  executive 
committee,  elected  by  the  national  convention,  who 
govern  its  many  activities  with  the  gravity  of  a  college 
faculty,  the  astuteness  of  a  lawyer,  and  the  frugality 
of  a  tradesman.  They  issue  annual  reports,  as  full 
of  statistics  and  involved  analyses  as  a  government 
report.  And  they  have  no  patience  for  party  stars 
who  are  ambitious  to  move  in  the  orbit  of  their  own 
individual  greatness. 

Because  the  keynote  of  the  party  is  solidarity,  which 
is  a  synonym  for  discipline,  "  We  have  no  factions, 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    177 

we  are  one.  Personally  any  Social  Democrat  may 
believe  as  he  pleases  and  do  as  he  pleases.  But  when 
it  comes  to  political  activity,  we  insist  that  he  act  with 
the  party."  These  are  the  words  in  which  one  of  the 
younger  leaders  of  the  party  explained  their  unity  to 
me. 

In  1890,  when  the  Bavarian  rebels  were  under  dis- 
cussion in  the  national  congress,  Bebel  told  the  dele- 
gates that  "  a  fighting  party  such  as  our  Social  De- 
mocracy can  only  achieve  its  aims  when  every  member 
observes  the  strictest  discipline."  7 

Evidences  of  party  discipline  are  not  lacking.  The 
Prussian  temperament  is  rough,  dogmatic,  implacable ; 
the  South  German  is  mellow,  yielding,  kind.  The 
two  temperaments  often  clash.  The  one  loves  indi- 
vidual action ;  the  other,  military  unity.  The  southern 
Socialist  votes  for  his  local  budgets  in  town  council 
and  diet,  and  he  receives  the  chastisement  of  the  north- 
ern disciplinarian  with  mellow  good-nature.  But  soli- 
darity there  is,  whatever  the  price;  and  a  class-con- 
sciousness, a  brotherhood :  they  call  each  other  "  Com- 
rades." 8 

The  membership  of  the  party  includes  all  those  who 
pay  party  dues  and  will  oblige  themselves  to  party 
fealty,  to  do  any  drudgery  demanded  of  them.9  In 
six  parliamentary  districts  the  membership  equals 
thirty  per  cent,  of  the  Social  Democratic  vote  cast;  in 
twenty-four  other  districts  there  is  a  membership  of 
over  10,000  per  district.10  It  is  difficult  to  say  what 

7  See  Protokoll  des  Partei-Tages,  1890,  pp.  156-7. 

^"Genossen":   the  word   really  means   "brethren." 

*  Party  membership  has  grown  as  follows :  1906,  384,527 ;  1907, 
530,466;  1908,  587,336;  1909,  633,309;  1910,  720,038;  1911, 
836,562. 

™Bericht  des  Partei-Vorstandes,  1909-10. 


178    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

proportion  of  the  members  of  the  union  are  members 
of  the  party.  The  vast  bulk  of  the  party  members 
are  laboring  men,  and  no  doubt  the  majority  of  them 
are  members  of  the  union. 

In  the  last  imperial  elections  (January,  1912)  this 
party  cast  4,250,000  votes,  almost  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  federal  electorate,  and  elected  no  members  to 
the  Reichstag,  over  one-fourth  of  the  entire  member- 
ship.11 In  nineteen  state  legislatures  the  Social  Demo- 
crats have  1 86  members,  in  396  city  councils  1,813 
members,  and  in  2,009  communal  councils  5,720  mem- 
bers.12 

The  supreme  authority  of  the  party  is  the  annual 
national  convention,  called  "  congress."  Here  de- 
tailed reports  are  made  by  the  various  committees; 
and  the  parliamentary  delegation  make  an  elaborate 
statement,  detailing  every  official  act  of  the  group  in 
the  Reichstag.  Everything  is  discussed  by  everybody ; 
the  speeches  made  by  the  members  in  the  Reichstag, 
the  opinions  of  the  party  editors  in  their  daily  edito- 
rials, the  party  finances,  everything  is  freely  criticised. 
The  most  insignificant  member  has  the  same  privilege 
of  criticism  as  the  party  czars ;  and  the  criticism  often 
becomes  naively  personal.  No  doubt  the  party  patriot- 
ism is  largely  fed  by  this  frank,  fearless,  aboveboard 
airing  of  grievances,  this  freedom  from  "  boss  rule." 
Every  one  has  his  opportunity,  and  this  robs  the  plot- 
ter and  backbiter  of  his  venom. 

Having  listened  to  the  faultfinder,  they  vote;  and 
having  voted,  they  rarely  relent.  When  a  decision  is 
reached,  the  members  are  expected  to  abide  by  it  faith- 

11  See  Appendix,  p.  296,  for  complete  election  returns. 
"Bericht  des  Partei-Vorstandes,  1909-10. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS  179 

fully  and  cheerfully.  They  make  short  work  of 
traitors.13 

Every  year  a  detailed' report  on  the  imperial  budget 
is  read,  showing  how  the  money  is  spent  on  armaments, 
on  police,  on  courts,  and  every  other  department  of 
the  empire;  and  how  the  money  is  raised.  The  con- 
vention resolves  itself  into  a  school  of  public  finance. 
This  analysis  is  sent  broadcast,  as  a  campaign  docu- 
ment. So  yearly  a  report  is  read  of  the  number  of 
arrests  made  and  the  fines  and  penalties  ensuing,  on 
account  of  lese-majeste  and  other  laws  infringing  upon 
the  liberty  of  the  press  and  of  speech.  Also,  every 
year  the  central  committee  report,  in  great  detail,  every 
party  activity  in  every  corner  of  the  empire.  A  well- 
knit  hegemony  of  party  interest  is  created.  The  mass 
is  willing  to  listen  to  the  individual,  to  bend  to  the 
needs  of  the  smallest  commune. 

Throughout  their  frank  discussions  and  involved  de- 
bates there  runs  a  certain  polysyllabic  flavor  that  is 
characteristically  German.  They  often  choose,  a  year 
in  advance,  some  important  national  question,  such  as 
the  tariff,  mining  laws,  the  agrarian  situation,  and 
discuss  it  in  great  detail,  more  like  an  academy  of 
universal  knowledge  than  a  political  party.  The 
learned  blend  their  involved  phraseology  and  store  of 
facts  with  the  refreshing  frankness  and  ignorance  of 
the  unlearned. 

in 

We  will  now  return  to  the  present  activities  of  this 
party  that  was  born  in  revolution  and  nurtured  by 

"In  1891-2  the  "Berliner  Opposition"  threatened  a  revolt. 
They  were  given  every  opportunity  of  explaining  their  griev- 
ances, were  told  what  to  do,  and,  disobeying,  were  promptly 
shown  the  door. 


i8o    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

persecution.  In  order  to  understand  this  activity,  it 
is  necessary  to  review  the  present  attitude  of  the 
government  toward  democracy  and  Socialism.  The 
repeal  of  the  anti-Socialist  law  could  not  suddenly 
alter  the  spirit  of  opposition.  It  merely  changed  the 
outward  aspect  of  the  opposition. 

The  government  indicates  in  many  ways  its  distrust 
of  Social  Democrats.  No  member  of  the  party  has 
ever  been  invited  by  the  government  to  a  place  of 
public  honor  and  responsibility.  Indeed,  to  be  a  Social 
Democrat  effectively  closes  the  door  against  promotion 
in  civil  life.1*  This  silent  hostility  is  not  confined  to 
political  offices  and  the  civil  service;  it  extends  into 
the  professions.  Judges  and  public  physicians,  pastors 
in  the  state  church,  teachers  in  the  public  schools, 
professors  in  the  great  universities  are  included  in  the 
ban.  A  pastor  may  be  a  "  Christian  Socialist,"  a  pro- 
fessor may  nourish  his  "  Socialism  of  the  chair,"  and 
a  judge  or  a  government  engineer  may  be  inclined  to- 
ward far-reaching  social  experiment.  But  with  So- 
cial Democracy  they  must  have  absolutely  nothing  to 
do.15 

The  government's  attitude  is  based  on  the  theory 
that  the  Social  Democrats  are  enemies  of  the  mon- 
archy, and  are  designing  to  overthrow  it  and  declare 
a  republic  the  moment  they  get  into  power.  The 
Kaiser,  on  several  public  occasions,  has  expressed  his 
distrust  and  disapproval  for  this  vast  multitude  of  his 

" "  It  has  been  truthfully  said  that  in  Germany  a  Social 
Democrat  cannot  even  become  a  night-watchman." — PROF. 
BERNHARD  HARMS  (University  of  Kiel),  Ferdinand  Lassalle  und 
Seine  Bedeutung  fur  die  Sozial-Demokratie,  1909,  p.  103. 

""Do  you  enjoy  freedom  from  political  interference?"  I 
asked  a  high  official  in  the  civil  service.  "  Absolutely.  We  think 
as  we  please,  talk  as  we  please,  and  do  as  we  please.  But  we 
must  let  the  Social  Democrats  alone." 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   181 

subjects.  A  number  of  years  ago  he  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  "  the  Social  Democrats  are  a  band  of 
persons  who  are  unworthy  of  their  fatherland " 
("  Eine  Bande  von  Menschen  die  ihres  Vaterlands 
nicht  wiirdig  sind").  And  more  recently:  "The  So- 
cial Democrats  are  a  crowd  of  upstarts  without 
a  fatherland"  ("  Vaterlandslose  Gesellen").  The 
Kaiser  joined  in  the  public  rejoicing  over  the  check 
that  had  apparently  been  administered  to  the  growth 
of  the  Social  Democracy  by  the  elections  of  1907,  and 
in  a  speech  delivered  to  a  throng  of  citizens  gathered 
for  jubilation  in  the  palace  yard  in  Berlin,  he  said 
that  the  "  Socialists  have  been  ridden  down " 
("  niedergeritten  "),  a  military  figure  of  speech. 

Retaliation  is  not  unnatural.  The  pictures  of  the 
Hohenzollerns  and  the  high  functionaries  of  state  and 
army  do  not  adorn  the  walls  of  the  homes  of  the  Social 
Democrats.  There  are  seen  the  portraits  of  Marx  and 
Lassalle,  Liebknecht  and  Bebel.  The  members  of  the 
party  never  join  in  a  public  display  of  confidence  in  the 
government.  They  exercise  a  petty  tyranny  over  their 
neighbors.  Instances  are  told  of  shopkeepers  who 
were  compelled  to  yield  to  the  boycott  instituted 
against  them  because  they  voted  against  the  Social 
Democrats,  and  of  workmen  coerced  into  joining  the 
union. 

This  feeling  of  bitterness  is  most  clearly  marked 
in  Prussia.  In  southern  Germany  a  feeling  of  good 
will  and  co-operation  is  becoming  more  marked  every 
year.  The  King  of  Bavaria  is  not  afraid  to  shake 
hands  with  Von  Vollmar.  Some  years  ago  a  Bavarian 
railway  employee  was  elected  to  the  Diet  on  the 
Social  Democratic  ticket,  and  his  employer,  the 
state,  gave  him  leave  of  absence  to  attend  to  his  legis- 


182    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

lative  duties.  In  Baden  the  leader  of  the  Social  Demo- 
cratic Party  called  at  the  palace  to  present  the  felicita- 
tions of  his  comrades  to  the  royal  family  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  birth  of  an  heir. 

The  principal  immediate  issue  of  the  Social  Demo- 
crats in  Germany  is  electoral  reform.  None  of  the 
states  or  provinces  are  on  a  genuinely  democratic 
electoral  basis.  In  Saxony  a  new  electoral  law  was 
passed  in  1909  which  typifies  the  spirit  of  the  entire 
country.16  The  electorate  is  divided  into  four  classes 
according  to  their  income.  The  result  of  the  first 
election  under  this  law  in  the  city  of  Leipsic  was 
as  follows:  There  were  172,800  votes  cast  by  79,928 
voters. 

32,576  voters  in  the  one-vote  class  cast  32,576  votes 

20,323       "  "  "  two-   "  "         "     40,646      " 

8,538       "  "  "  three-    "        "         "     25,614      " 

18,491        "  "  "  four-   *  "     73,964      " 

There  are  ninety-one  members  in  the  Saxon  Diet. 
The  law  provided  that  only  forty-three  of  these  should 
be  elected  from  the  cities.  The  three  leading  cities 
of  Saxony,  Chemnitz,  Dresden,  Leipsic,  are  strong- 
holds of  Social  Democracy,  while  the  country  districts 
are  Conservative.  The  Social  Democrats  feel  that  the 
property  qualifications  and  the  distribution  of  the  dis- 
tricts impose  an  unfair  handicap  against  them.  In 
spite  of  these  obstacles  they  elected  so  many  deputies 
that  they  were  offered  the  vice-presidency  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  offer,  however,  was  con- 
ditioned upon  their  attending  the  annual  reception 
given  by  the  King  to  the  representatives.  They  had 

16  See  Appendix,  p.  293,  for  synopsis  of  this  law. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    183 

hitherto  refused  to  attend  these  royal  functions  and 
were  not  willing  to  surrender  for  the  sake  of  office.17 

The  ancient  free  cities — Hamburg,  Bremen,  Liibeck 
— have  election  laws  as  ancient  and  antiquated  as  their 
charters.  In  Liibeck  a  large  majority  of  the  legislative 
body  is  elected  by  electors  having  an  income  of  over 
2,000  marks  a  year.  In  Hamburg  the  nobles,  higher 
officials,  etc.,  elect  40  representatives,  the  house- 
holders elect  40,  the  large  landholders  elect  8,  those 
citizens  having  an  income  of  over  2,500  marks  a 
year  elect  48,  those  who  have  an  income  from  1,200 
to  2,500  marks  a  year  elect  24,  those  who  have  an 
income  of  less  than  1,200  marks  have  no  vote.  In 
Bremen  the  various  groups  or  kinds  of  property  are 
represented  in  the  law-making  body.  Property,  not 
the  person,  is  represented. 

Prussia  is  the  special  grievance  of  the  Social  Demo- 
crats. Here  the  three-class  system  of  voting  prevails. 
The  taxpayers  are  divided  into  three  classes,  accord- 
ing to  the  amount  of  taxes  paid,  each  class  paying  one- 
third  of  the  taxes.  Each  class  chooses  one-third  of 
the  electors  who  name  the  members  of  the  Prussian 
Diet.  By  this  arrangement  the  large  property  class 
virtually  controls  the  elections.18  By  this  system  the 

"The  vote  for  the  Saxon  legislature  at  this  time  was  as 
follows : 

Party  Voters  Votes 

Social  Democrats    341,396  492,522 

Conservatives    103,517  281,804 

National  Liberal   125,157  236,541 

Independents    (Freisinnige)    4I,857  100,804 

Anti-Semites    20,248  55,502 

The  Social  Democrats  included  over  one-half  of  the  voters, 

cast  about  one-third  of  the  votes,  and  elected  only  one-fourth  of 

the  members. 
18  Some  curious  instances  of  inequality  appear  in  the  cities.    In 

Berlin  in  one  precinct  one  man  paid  one-third  of  the  taxes  and 

consequently  possessed  one-third  of  the  legislative  influence  in 


184    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Social  Democratic  representation  is  held  down  to  6 
in  a  membership  of  420.  In  1909  the  party  polled 
23^  per  cent,  of  the  entire  Prussian  vote.  Here  again 
the  districts  are  so  arranged  that  the  majority  of  the 
members  are  elected  from  the  Conservative  rural  dis- 
tricts, while  the  cities,  which  are  strongholds  of  Social 
Democracy,  must  content  themselves  with  a  minority, 
although  nearly  60  per  cent,  of  the  population  of 
Prussia  is  urban.  These  examples  are  sufficient  to 
indicate  the  general  nature  of  franchise  legislation  in 
Germany.19  For  the  past  several  years  universal  suf- 
frage demonstrations  have  been  held  throughout  the 
empire.  The  general  strike  has  not  been  used  as  a 
method  of  political  coercion.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  German  temperament  is  adapted  to  that  kind  of 
warfare.  Mass-meetings,  however,  and  street  demon- 
strations are  the  favorite  means  of  the  propaganda. 
Sometimes  there  are  conflicts  with  the  police,  but  these 
are  diminishing  in  number  every  year.  The  govern- 
ment has  not  diminished  its  vigilance,  and  its  jealous 
eyes  are  never  averted  from  these  demonstrations.20 

that  precinct.  In  another  precinct  the  president  of  a  large  bank 
paid  one-third  of  the  taxes,  and  two  of  his  associates  paid  an- 
other third.  These  three  men  named  the  member  of  the  Diet 
from  that  precinct. 

"For  the  struggle  for  ballot  reform  in  Bavaria,  see  Der 
Kampf  um  die  Wahlreform  in  Bayern,  issued  in  1905  by  the 
Bavarian  Social  Democratic  Party  Executive  Committee. 

10  February  13,  1910,  was  set  aside  as  a  day  for  suffrage  demon- 
stration throughout  the  empire.  In  Berlin  alone  forty-two  meet- 
ings were  announced.  These  provoked  the  following  edict : 
"  Notice !  The  '  right  to  the  streets  '  is  hereby  proclaimed.  The 
streets  serve  primarily  for  traffic.  Resistance  to  state  authority 
will  be  met  by  the  force  of  arms.  I  warn  the  curious.  Berlin, 
February  13,  1910.  Police-president,  VON  IAGOW."  The  Social 
Democratic  papers  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  notices 
were  printed  on  the  same  forms  that  the  Police-president  often 
used  to  announce  that  the  streets  would  be  closed  to  all  traffic 
on  account  of  military  parades. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    185 

An  incident  occurred  in  March,  1910,  which  illus- 
trates the  temper  of  the  people  and  the  government. 
A  gigantic  demonstration  was  announced,  to  be  held 
in  Treptow  Park,  Berlin.  The  Police-president  for- 
bade the  meeting  and  had  every  street  leading  to  the 
park  carefully  guarded.  One  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand demonstrants  met  in  the  Thiergarten,  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  city,  and  so  secretly  had  the  word  been 
given,  so  quietly  was  it  executed,  and  so  orderly  was 
this  vast  throng  of  workingmen,  that  the  police  knew 
nothing  of  it  until  the  meeting  was  well  under  way. 
Permission  for  the  Treptow  meeting  was  not  again 
refused. 

The  immediate  issue,  then,  of  the  German  Social 
Democracy  is  universal  suffrage.  Lassalle's  cry  is 
more  piercing  to-day  than  when  that  brilliant  and 
erratic  agitator  uttered  it :  "  Democracy,  the  universal 
ballot,  is  the  laboring  man's  hope."  The  name  of  the 
party  is  significant.  The  accent  has  shifted  from  the 
first  to  the  second  part  of  the  compound — from  the 
Marxian  to  the  Lassallian  word. 

The  German  Social  Democrats  have  never  had  a 
Millerand  or  a  Briand  or  a  John  Burns;  their  partici- 
pation in  imperial  and  provincial  affairs  has  been 
strictly  limited  to  parliamentary  criticism.  Even  in 
local  government,  in  the  communes  and  cities,  they 
have  been  allowed  only  a  small  share  in  actual  con- 
structive work.  But  in  spite  of  these  facts  the  party 
has  undergone  a  most  remarkable  change  of  creed  and 
tone. 


186    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 


IV 

We  will  concern  ourselves  only  with  the  most  sig- 
nificant changes.  These  follow  two  general  lines :  ( i ) 
the  attitude  of  the  party  towards  legislation  and  prac- 
tical parliamentary  participation;  (2)  the  internal 
changes  in  the  party.  We  will  follow  these  changes 
through  the  official  reports  of  the  annual  party  con- 
ventions. 

First  we  will  briefly  see  what  change  has  taken 
place  in  their  attitude  toward  parliamentary  activity. 
The  Social  Democrats  began  as  revolutionists  and  vio- 
lent anti-parliamentarians.  They  entered  parliament, 
not  to  make  laws,  but  to  make  trouble.  In  1890  they 
changed  their  name  from  the  Socialist  Labor  Party 
to  the  Social  Democratic  Party ;  and  when  some  of  the 
older  members  thought  that  this  was  a  compromise 
with  their  enemies,  one  of  the  leaders  replied  that  "  a 
Socialist  party  must  eo  ipse  be  a  democratic  party."  21 
In  1890  Liebknecht  said:  "Formerly  we  had  an  en- 
tirely different  tactic.  Tactics  and  principles  are  two 
different  things.  In  1869  in  a  speech  in  Berlin  I 
condemned  parliamentary  activity.  That  was  then. 
Political  conditions  were  entirely  different."  22  Gradu- 
ally tactics  and  principles  have  coalesced  until  their 
line  of  cleavage  is  obscured. 

The  earlier  reports  of  the  parliamentary  delegation 
are  tinged  with  apology — they  are  in  parliament  as 
protestors,  as  propagandists,  not  as  legislators.  They 
seem  to  say :  "  Fellow-partisans,  excuse  us  for  being 
in  the  Reichstag.  We  don't  believe  in  the  bourgeois 

^Protokoll,  1890,  pp.  119-120. 
*'  Protokoll,  1890,  pp.  96-7- 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   187 

law-making  devices.  But  since  we  are  here,  we  pur- 
pose to  do  what  we  can  for  the  cause.  We  will  not 
betray  you,  nor  the  glorious  Socialistic  state  of  society 
that  we  are  all  working  for." 

From  the  first,  Social  Democrats  have  voted  against 
the  imperial  budget,  have  opposed  all  tariffs,  indirect 
taxes,  extension  of  the  police  power,  increase  in  naval 
and  military  expenditure,  and  colonial  exploitation. 
They  took  no  part  at  first  in  law-making,  held  them- 
selves disdainfully  aloof  from  practical  parliamentary 
efforts,  and  especially  avoided  every  appearance  of 
coalition  with  other  parties. 

But  gradually  a  change  came  over  them.  In  1895 
they  nominated  one  of  their  number  for  secretary  of 
the  Reichstag.28 

Gingerly  they  dipped  their  fingers  into  the  pottage 
of  reality.  Soon  they  began  to  introduce  bills.  In 
1901  they  proposed  a  measure  that  increased  the  allow- 
ance of  the  private  soldier.  Their  bill  became  a  law. 
In  the  next  national  convention,  when  they  were  called 
to  task  for  their  worldliness,  they  excused  themselves 
by  saying  that  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  private  soldiers 
were  proletarians  and  their  parents  were  too  poor  to 
supply  them  with  the  money  necessary  for  army  sun- 
dries, and  the  allowance  of  the  state  had  been 
inadequate.  This  was  therefore  a  law  that  actually 
benefited  the  poor. 

In  1906  and  1908  they  were  compelled  to  face  the 
practical  question  of  an  inheritance  tax.  The  delega- 

28  There  are  eight  secretaries  elected.  They  are  distributed,  by 
custom,  among  the  parties,  according  to  their  voting  strength. 
The  Social  Democrats  had  always  refrained  from  taking  part  in 
any  of  the  elections;  now  they  enter  the  lists,  abstaining  from 
voting  for  any  candidate  except  their  own — who,  in  turn,  re- 
ceived no  other  votes. 


i88    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tion  supported  the  measure,  after  prolonged  delibera- 
tion over  what  action  to  take.  This  action  precipitated 
a  heated  discussion  in  the  party  congress;  the  veterans 
feared  the  party  was  surrendering  its  principles.  They 
were  assured  by  Bebel  that  the  vote  was  orthodox.2* 

In  1906  the  party  instructed  its  delegation  to  intro- 
duce bills  for  redistricting  the  empire  for  Reichstag 
elections;  to  reduce  the  legislative  period  from  five  to 
three  years;  to  revise  the  laws  relating  to  sailors  and 
provide  for  better  inspection  of  ships  and  shipping. 
These  instructions  mark  a  revolution  in  German  So- 
cial Democracy,  a  change  that  can  best  be  illustrated 
by  the  shift  in  its  attitude  on  state  insurance.  In  1892 
the  party  resolved :  "  So-called  state  Socialism,  in  so 
far  as  it  concerns  itself  with  bettering  the  conditions 
of  the  working  people,  is  a  system  of  half-reforms 
whose  origin  is  in  the  fear  of  Social  Democracy.  It 
aims,  through  all  kinds  of  palliatives  and  little  con- 
cessions, to  estrange  the  working  people  from  Social 
Democracy  and  to  cripple  the  party. 

"  The  Social  Democracy  have  never  disdained  to 
ask  for  such  governmental  regulations,  or,  if  proposed 
by  the  opposition,  to  approve  of  those  measures  which 
could  better  the  conditions  of  labor  under  the  present 
industrial  system.  But  Social  Democrats  view  such 
regulations  as  only  little  payments  on  account,  which 
in  nowise  confuse  the  Social  Democracy  in  its  striving 
for  a  new  organization  of  society."  25 

They  are  now  not  above  collecting  even  small  sums 
on  account.  In  1910  their  convention  declares  that 
state  insurance  is  "  the  object  of  constant  agitation. 

**  Bebel  was  not  present  in  the  Reichstag  at  the  time  this  vote 
was  taken,  but  he  told  the  convention  that,  had  he  been  present, 
he  should  have  supported  the  Tax  Bill.  Protokoll,  1908,  p.  364. 

"Protokoll,  1892,  p.  173. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    189 

For  what  we  have  thus  far  secured  by  no  means  ap- 
proaches what  the  laborer  demands."  26 

The  committee  on  parliamentary  action  reported,  a 
few  years  ago,  that  "  no  opportunity  was  lost  for 
entering  the  lists  in  behalf  of  political  and  cultural 
progress.  In  the  discussion  of  all  bills  and  other  busi- 
ness matters,  the  members  of  the  delegation  took  an 
active  part  in  committee  as  well  as  in  plenum." 2T 
There  is  no  longer  half -abashed  juvenile  reluctance 
at  legislative  participation.  The  reports  boast  of  the 
work  done  by  the  party  in  behalf  of  the  workingman, 
the  peasant,  small  tradesman,  small  farmer,  and  hum- 
bler government  employees.  Eleven  bills  were  intro- 
duced by  the  delegation  in  1909-10,  relating  to  factory 
and  mine  inspection,  amending  the  state  insurance 
laws,  the  tariff  laws,  the  redistricting  of  the  empire 
for  Reichstag  elections — i.e.,  all  pertaining  to  labor, 
politics,  and  finance.  Twenty  resolutions  were  moved 
by  the  delegation,  and  many  interpellations  called. 

Interpellation,  however,  is  not  very  satisfactory  in 
a  government  where  the  ministry  is  not  responsible 
to  parliament.  In  1909  the  Social  Democrats  intro- 
duced a  bill  to  make  the  Chancellor  and  his  cabinet 
responsible  to  the  Reichstag.  Ledebour,  who  made 
the  leading  speech  for  the  Social  Democrats,  gave  a 
clear  exposition  of  his  party's  contention.  He  wanted 
a  government  "  wherein  the  people,  in  the  final  analy- 
sis, decided  the  fate  of  the  government.  For,  in  such 
a  government,  only  those  men  come  into  power  who 
represent  a  program,  represent  conviction  and  char- 
acter; not  any  one  who  has  succeeded,  for  the  mo- 
ment, in  pleasing  the  fancy  and  becoming  the  favorite 

**  Protokoll,  1910,  p.  469. 
"  Protokoll,  1910,  p.  95. 


SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

of  the  determining  kamarilla."  If  the  election  should 
turn  on  this  issue,  "  whether  there  shall  be  a  perpetua- 
tion of  the  sham-constitutional,  junker  bureaucracy, 
or  the  establishing  of  a  democratic  parliamentary 
authority,"  the  parliamentary  party  would  win.  "  The 
will  of  the  people  should  be  the  highest  law."  28 

In  January,  1912,  this  party  of  isolation  entered  the 
Reichstag  as  the  strongest  group:  no  members  ac- 
knowledge the  leadership  of  Bebel.  By  co-operating 
with  the  Radicals  and  National  Liberals,  the  progres- 
sive elements  had  a  majority  over  the  Conservative 
and  Clerical  reactionaries  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  empire.  Here  Bebel  consented  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  president  of  the  Chamber.  He 
received  175  votes;  the  candidate  of  the  Conservatives, 
Dr.  Spahn,  leader  of  the  Clerical  Center,  received 
196.  Enough  National  Liberals  had  wavered  to 
throw  the  balance  in  favor  of  Conservatism.  A  So- 
cialist was  elected  first  vice-president,  and  a  National 
Liberal  second  vice-president.  The  President-elect  re- 
fused to  act  with  a  Socialist  vice-president  and  re- 
signed. The  Radical  member  from  Berlin,  Herr 
Kaempf,  was  then  elected  President.29  Thereupon 
the  National  Liberal  second  vice-president  also  re- 
signed, and  a  Radical  was  chosen  in  his  stead.  The 
Social  Democrats  and  the  Radicals  were  made  re- 
sponsible for  the  leadership  of  the  new  Reichstag. 

28  Reichstag  Debates,  December  2,   1908. 

"In  the  election  of  January,  1912,  the  Social  Democrats  car- 
ried every  district  in  Berlin  excepting  the  one  in  which  the 
Kaiser's  palace  is  situated.  Here  a  spirited  contest  took  place. 
A  second  ballot  was  made  necessary  between  the  Radicals  and 
Social  Democrats,  and  the  Conservatives,  throwing  all  their 
forces  on  to  the  Radical  side,  succeeded  in  keeping  this  last 
stronghold  from  their  enemies.  But  Herr  Kaempf's  majority 
was  only  6  votes. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   191 

It  is  customary  for  the  President  and  the  vice-pres- 
ident of  the  Chamber  to  announce  to  the  Kaiser  when 
the  Reichstag  is  organized  and  ready  for  business.  The 
Kaiser  let  it  be  known  that  he  did  not  care  to  receive 
the  Radical  officers.  The  Socialist  first  vice-president 
refused  to  join  in  the  proposed  official  visit.  The 
Prussian  temper  is  slow  to  change. 

These  illustrations  clearly  indicate  the  trend  of  So- 
cial Democratic  legislative  and  political  policy.  It  is 
the  universal  story — ambition  brings  power,  power 
brings  responsibility,  responsibility  sobers  the  senses. 


The  second  development  that  we  are  to  trace  re- 
lates to  the  program,  or  platform,  of  the  party.  The 
official  program  has  not  undergone  any  change,  but  the 
interpretation,  the  spirit,  has  mellowed.  The  Erfurter 
program  of  1891  is  still  their  party  pledge.  The  pro- 
gram is  in  two  parts ;  the  first  an  elaborate  exposition 
of  Marxian  economics,  the  second  a  series  of  practical 
demands  differing  only  slightly  from  the  Gotha  pro- 
gram. 

Only  one  speech  was  made  in  the  national  conven- 
tion on  the  adoption  of  this  bifurcated  platform,  that 
attempted  to  link  Marxian  theory  to  Lassallian  real- 
ism. This  speeqh  was  made  by  Liebknecht,  friend  of 
Marx,  who  elaborately  explained  his  friend's  theory 
of  value,  doctrine  of  class  war  and  social  evolution. 
The  program  was  adopted  en  bloc.  The  chairman 
ignored  a  few  protesting  "  noes  "  when  the  vote  was 
called,  and  declared  it  unanimously  adopted.  These  few 
voices  of  protest  soon  swelled  to  considerable  volume. 


192    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Within  one  year  after  the  repeal  of  the  Socialist  law 
the  party  had  entered  upon  the  difficult  task  of  being 
both  critic  and  parliamentarian,  constructive  and  de- 
structive, under  rigid  military  discipline. 

To  the  few  protesters  at  Erfurt,  it  seemed  as  though 
the  party  had  entered  the  lifeboat,  manned  the  oars, 
and  neglected  to  untie  the  painter. 

When  the  elections  of  1897  recorded  a  severe  set- 
back for  the  party  the  progressives  were  told  to  keep 
the  eyes  of  faith  on  the  "  ultimate  goal  "  of  Socialism. 
One  of  the  ref  ormistes  replied :  "  The  whole  idea  of  an 
ultimate  goal  is  distasteful  to  me.  There  is  no  ultimate 
goal;  for  beyond  your  ultimate  goal  is  another  world 
of  striving."  30  And  another  critic  said :  "  Nothing 
wears  threadbare  so  rapidly  by  constant  use  as  words 
of  faith.  Constantly  spoken  or  heard,  they  become 
stereotyped  into  phrases,  and  the  inspired  prophet 
creates  the  same  offensive  impression  as  a  priest  who 
has  nothing  else  to  offer  but  words."  The  interest  of 
the  workingman  "  finds  its  expression  in  the  practical- 
ness of  the  second  part  of  the  Erfurter  program,  and 
the  wholly  practical  work  of  the  party."  31  It  was  at 
this  time  that  Edward  Bernstein,  friend  and  literary 
heir  of  Engel,  published  a  series  of  critical  papers  in 
the  party  journal,  Die  Nene  Zelt,  attacking  especially 
the  catastrophic  and  revolutionary  postulates  and  say- 
ing "  the  movement  is  everything,  the  goal  is  nothing." 
Kautsky,  the  dogmatist  of  the  party,  replied  to  these 
articles  and  a  feverish  discussion  followed  in  all  the 
party  press.32 

"Protokoll,  1898,  p.  89. 

n  Supra  cit.,  p.  90. 

82  This  controversy  is  known  as  the  "  revisionist  movement." 
The  revisionists'  position  is  set  forth  in  Bernstein's  book,  Die 
V oraussetsung  des  Sosialismus  und  die  Aufgaben  der  Sozial- 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    193 

In  the  party  conventions  of  1898  and  1899  this  con- 
troversy was  waged  with  considerable  energy.  Von 
Vollmar  made  merry  over  Kautsky's  "  inquisition  " 
and  called  the  debate  "  a  noisy  cackling  over  nothing." 
The  mass  of  the  party,  he  said,  did  not  trouble  their 
heads  about  theories,  but  plodded  along  unmindful  of 
hairsplitting.33  Bebel  made  a  herculean  effort  to 
reconcile  both  elements.  To  the  revisionists  he  said, 
"  We  are  in  a  constant  state  of  intellectual  moult- 
ing," 34  to  the  orthodox  he  said,  "  We  remain  what  we 
have  always  been."  35 

It  was  at  Dresden,  1903,  that  the  revisionist  tempest 
reached  its  height  in  the  party  teapot.  The  Germans' 
love  for  polysyllabic  phrase-making,  for  which  Jaures 
taunted  them  at  the  Amsterdam  congress,  was  here 
given  full  play.  Von  Vollmar  repeated  that  nobody 
except  a  few  dull  theorists  read  Kautsky's  or  Bern- 
stein's views;  the  mass  of  voters  cared  for  practical 
results,  and  "  revisionists  and  anti-revisionists  are 
nothing  but  a  bugbear."  38 

Here  the  matter  rested  until  the  elections  of  1907 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  party  high  priests.  They  gained 
only  248,249  votes  and  lost  one-half  of  their  seats  in 
the  Reichstag.  A  number  of  the  leading  Socialists 
promptly  began  to  attack  the  dogmas  of  the  party 
program  as  illusions  and  pitfalls.  The  class  war,  the 
revolutionary  method,  the  theory  of  an  ever-increasing 
proletariat  and  decreasing  bourgeoisie  were  attacked  as 

Demokratie.  The  Marxian  position  is  set  forth  in  Kautsky's 
reply,  Bernstein  und  die  Sosial-Demokratie.  An  English  edi- 
tion of  Bernstein's  book  has  been  published  in  the  Labor  Party 
series  in  London. 

*Protokoll,  1899. 

84  Supra  cit.,  p.  94. 

88  Supra  cit.,  p.  127. 

"  Protokoll,  1903,  pp.  321-45. 


194    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

unscientific  and  illusory.  "  The  Erfurt  program  re- 
cites a  vagary,  it  repels  the  intellect,  it  must  be 
changed;"  that  was  the  opinion  of  the  advanced 
thinkers  of  the  party. 

No  party  congresses,  no  priestly  pronunciamentos 
have  been  able  to  check  the  spread  of  revolt.  As  long 
as  Kautsky  and  Bebel  live  the  program  will  probably 
not  be  re-phrased.  But  even  Kautsky  is  mellowing 
under  the  ripeness  of  years  and  circumstances;  and 
Bebel,  shrewd  politician,  knows  the  compaigning 
value  of  appearing  at  the  same  time  orthodox  and 
progressive.37 

To-day  one  hears  very  little  of  Marx  and  a  great 
deal  of  legislation.  The  last  election,  with  its  brilliant 
victory  for  Social  Democracy,  was  not  won  on  the  gen- 
eral issues  of  the  Erfurter  program  but  on  the  particu- 
lar issue  of  the  arrogance  of  the  bureaucracy,  and 
ballot  reform.  A  large  mass  of  voters  cast  their  bal- 
lots for  Social  Democratic  candidates  as  a  protest 
against  existing  governmental  conditions,  not  as  an 
affirmation  of  their  assent  to  the  Marxian  dogmas. 
The  truth  is,  Marx  is  a  tradition,  democracy  is  an 
issue.38 

Another  indication  of  the  notable  changes  that  have 

w  In  the  congress  of  1907  Bebel  tried  to  dispel  the  gloom  by  a 
long  and  optimistic  speech  in  which  he  declared  that  their  suc- 
cess was  not  to  be  measured  by  the  number  of  seats  they  won, 
but  by  the  number  of  voters.  He  closed  by  saying,  "  We  are  the 
corning  ones,  ours  is  the  future  in  spite  of  all  things  and  every- 
thing."— Protokoll,  1907,  p.  323. 

**  One  of  the  veteran  party  leaders  answered  my  question  as 
to  the  present-day  influence  of  Marx  as  follows :  "  The  bulk  of 
our  party  have  never  read  Marx.  It  takes  a  well-trained  mirid 
to  understand  him.  Conditions  have  entirely  changed  since  his 
day,  and  we  are  busy  with  questions  of  which  Marx  never 
dreamed  and  of  which  he  could  not  foretell.  He  laid  the 
philosophjcal  basis  for  our  party,  but  our  party  is  practical,  not 
philosophical." 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   195 

come  over  Social  Democracy  is  seen  in  the  Socialists' 
relation  to  other  parties.  Here  their  dogmatic 
aloofness  is  the  most  tenacious.  During  the  years 
of  their  bitter  persecution  by  the  government  they 
found  their  excuse  in  an  isolation  that  was  forced 
upon  them.  Von  Vollmar  told  his  colleagues,  imme- 
diately after  the  repeal  of  the  anti-Socialist  law,  that 
the  South  Germans  were  ready  to  co-operate  with 
every  one  who  would  be  willing  to  give  them  an  inch. 
In  reply  to  this  Bebel  introduced  a  resolution  affirm- 
ing that  "  the  primary  necessity  of  attaining  political 
power  "  could  not  be  "  the  work  of  a  moment,"  but  was 
attained  only  by  gradual  growth.  During  the  period 
of  growth  the  Social  Democrats  should  not  work  for 
mere  "  concessions  from  the  ruling  classes,"  but  "  have 
only  the  ultimate  and  complete  aim  of  the  party  in 
mind."  The  Bebelian  theory  linked  the  ultimate  goal 
with  ultimate  power,  both  to  be  attained  by  waiting 
until  the  flood  tide. 

This  question  became  practical  when  the  Social 
Democratic  members  of  the  provincial  legislatures 
voted  with  other  parties  for  the  state  budget.  The 
national  party  claimed  authority  over  the  local  party, 
a  claim  which  was  resented  by  the  Bavarians  and  other 
South  German  delegations.39 

In  1894  the  South  Germans  were  chastised  by  a  vote 
of  164  to  64  for  voting  for  their  state  budget.  They 

*°  In  1900  Bebel  proposed  the  necessity  of  a  working  coalition 
with  other  parties  in  Prussia  to  gain  electoral  reform.  He  said : 
"  We  cannot  stand  alone.  We  must  attempt  to  go  hand  in  hand 
with  certain  elements  in  the  bourgeois  parties — without,  however, 
endangering  our  identity."  But  the  party  was  not  willing  to  go 
as  far  as  the  veteran,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted  limiting 
such  co-operation  strictly  to  Prussia  and  giving  the  central  com- 
mittee full  power  to  veto  the  acts  any  electoral  district  might 
take  in  this  direction. 


196    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

were  rebuked  again  in  1901  and  in  1908.  In  the  latter 
year  Bebel  told  them  "  three  times  is  enough,"  indicat- 
ing that  there  would  be  a  split  in  the  party  if  they  in- 
sisted on  voting  for  their  local  budgets.  The  South 
Germans  defended  their  action  by  saying  that  they  had 
always  agitated  for  more  pay  for  state  employees,  and 
that  they  were  willing  to  vote  the  funds  that  would 
make  this  possible.  A  new  champion  appeared  for 
the  reformistes — Dr.  Frank  of  Mannheim,  a  brilliant 
speaker  who  is  called  by  his  following  a  "  second 
Lassalle."  He  made  a  withering  attack  on  the  Marx- 
ian school,  but  Bebel's  censure  was  carried  by  256  to 
119. 

Finally  at  Magdeburg,  1910,  the  budget  question 
reached  its  climax.  Bebel  boasted  that  his  policy  of 
negation  had  wrought  great  changes  in  Germany.  "  I 
say  it  without  boasting,  in  the  whole  world  there  is 
no  Social  Democracy  that  has  accomplished  as  much 
positive  good  as  the  German  Social  Democracy."  *° 
He  claimed  the  insurance  laws,  factory  laws,  and  the 
repeal  of  special  and  oppressive  legislation  as  the  fruits 
of  his  policy.  Bebel  then  warned  the  Badensians  that 
this  is  the  last  time  they  will  be  forgiven;  one  other 
offense,  and  they  will  be  put  out  of  the  party. 

Dr.  Frank  made  an  elaborate  reply.  He  said  that 
there  was  a  working  agreement  between  the  Social 
Democrats  and  Liberals  whereby  they  co-operated 
against  the  Conservatives.  In  the  state  legislature  they 
had  a  "  bloc  "  with  the  Liberals  and  had  elected  a  vice- 
president  and  secretary  and  important  chairmanships 
by  means  of  this  coalition.  They  had,  moreover,  re- 
formed the  public  school  system,  secured  factory  leg- 
islation, and  had  secured  direct  elections  in  all  towns 

40  Protokoll,  1910,  p.  249. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS    197 

of  4,000  or  over.  The  reformistes'  principles  are  so 
clearly  stated  in  this  speech  that  I  quote  several  para- 
graphs : 

"  I  tell  you,  comrades,  if  you  think  that  under  all 
the  circumstances  you  can  win  only  small  concessions ; 
with  such  a  message  of  hopelessness  you  will  not 
conquer  the  world,  not  even  the  smallest  election  dis- 
trict. [Great  commotion  and  disturbance.]  But  what 
would  be  the  meaning  of  this  admission  that  small 
concessions  can  be  secured  ?  In  tearing  down  a  build- 
ing dramatic  effects  are  possible.  But  the  erection  of 
a  building  is  accomplished  only  by  an  accumulation  of 
small  concessions.  Behold  the  labor  unions,  that  are 
so  often  spoken  of,  how  they  struggle  for  months,  how 
they  suffer  hunger  for  months,  in  order  to  win  a  con- 
cession of  a  few  pennies.  Often  one  can  see  that  a 
small  concession  contains  enormous  future  possibilities, 
and  in  twenty  or  thirty  years  will  become  a  vital 
force  in  the  shaping  of  the  society  that  is  to  come." 

"  Nor  will  I  examine  the  question  whether  in  parlia- 
mentary activity  only  small  concessions  can  be  won. 
Is  it  not  possible,  through  parliamentary  action,  to  take 
high  tariffs  and  business  speculations  from  the  necks 
of  the  workingmen  ?  Is  it  not  possible  to  modify  police 
administration,  and  the  legislative  conditions  that  pro- 
fane Prussia  to-day?  Are  these  conditions  necessary 
concomitants  of  the  modern  class-state  (Klassen- 
staat)  ?  Is  it  not  possible  to  create  out  of  Prussia  and 
Germany  a  modern  state,  where  our  workingmen,  even 
as  their  brethren  in  Western  Europe,  can  fight  their 
great  battles  upon  the  field  of  democratic  equality  and 
citizenship?  If  you  wish  to  view  all  that  as  'small 
concessions  '  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so.  I  view  it  as  a 
tremendous  revolution,  if  it  succeeds,  to  secure,  through 


198    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

such  a  struggle,  liberty  for  the  Prussian  working 
class."  41 

The  censure  was  carried,  the  Baden  delegation  left 
the  hall  during  the  voting.  On  the  following  day  it 
returned  to  declare  its  loyalty  to  the  party,  but  with  the 
proviso  that  they  would  by  no  means  promise  how  they 
would  vote  on  their  state  budget  in  the  future. 

Events  are  shaping  themselves  rapidly  in  Germany. 
Ministerial  responsibility  cannot  much  longer  be  de- 
nied. The  elections  of  1912  should  serve  as  a  plain 
portent  to  the  reactionaries.  That  Bebel  is  willing  to 
be  a  candidate  for  President  of  the  Reichstag  is  a 
significant  concession ;  that  the  Radicals  and  many  Na- 
tional Liberals  are  willing  to  vote  for  him,  would  have 
been  deemed  impossible  ten  years  ago. 

Such  conditions  as  prevail  between  the  government 
and  the  Radicals  and  Social  Democrats  cannot  long 
continue.  The  break  with  the  past  must  come,  sooner 
or  later.  The  pressure  of  Radical  and  Democratic 
votes  will  become  so  powerful,  that  not  even  the  strong 
traditions  of  the  empire  can  wholly  withstand  it. 

In  May,  1911,  I  visited  the  Reichstag  on  an  event- 
ful occasion.  The  Social  Democrats  had  voted  with 
the  government  for  a  new  Constitution  for  Alsace-Lor- 
raine containing  universal  manhood  suffrage.  Herr 
Bebel  was  jubilant.  He  said :  "  It  marks  a  new  epoch. 
We  have  voted  with  the  government.  Not  that  we 
have  capitulated.  But  the  government  have  come  to 
our  convictions,  they  have  granted  universal  suffrage 
to  Alsace,  now  they  cannot  long  deny  that  right  to 
Prussia  and  the  other  states."  42 

41  Protokoll,  1910,  p.  272. 

"In   November,   1911,   Berlin's  new   city  hall  was   dedicated. 
The  members  of  the  city  council  were  invited  to  be  present. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   199 

We  have  now  seen  that  politically  a  great  change 
has  come  over  the  German  Socialists;  that  they  are 
participating  in  legislation,  and  are  especially  solicitous 
about  all  acts  that  pertain  to  labor  and  political  liberty; 
that  they  are  gradually  moving  toward  co-operation 
with  other  parties;  that  they  are  gradually  sloughing 
off  the  inflexible  Marxian  armor,  and  are  assuming  the 
pliable  dress  of  modernism. 

All  this  is  to  be  expected  of  a  party  that  began  as  a 
vigorous,  narrow,  autocratic  party  of  revolution  and 
protest,  and  is  emerging  from  its  hard  experiences,  a 
self-styled  "cultural  party"  ("  Kultur  Partei"). 
Dr.  Sudekum,  editor  of  Communal  Praxis,  in  his 
report  of  the  parliamentary  group,  in  1907,  wrote: 
"  We  have  in  the  Reichstag  two  kinds  of  duties ; 
first,  the  propaganda  of  our  ideas  and  program; 
second,  practical  work,  i.  e.,  to  enhance,  not  alone 
the  interests  of  the  working  class,  but  the  entire 
complex,  so-called  cultural  interests.  The  problems 
that  the  Social  Democratic  party  as  a  '  cultural  party ' 
has  to  solve,  which  are  assigned  to  it  as  the  representa- 
tive of  cultural  progress  in  every  realm  of  human 
activity,  must  increase  in  the  same  proportion  that 
the  bourgeois  parties  allow  themselves  to  be  captured 
by  the  government  and  neglect  these  problems."  43 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  "  class  war  "  to  "  human  cultural 
activities."  Such  an  expansion  of  purpose  requires  a 

The  Social  Democrats  cast  a  large  majority  of  all  the  votes 
in  Berlin.  But  the  Social  Democrats  refused  to  attend  the 
ceremonies.  The  program,  as  published,  called  for  a  "  Hoch !  " 
to  the  Kaiser,  and  the  Social  Democrats  never  joined  in  pub- 
lic approval  of  the  government.  Vorwarts,  the  leading  Social 
Democratic  daily,  said  that  Social  Democrats  have  nothing  to 
do  with  such  a  display  of  "  Byzantinism."  "  If  any  one  thought 
it  necessary  to  shout  '  Hoch ! '  he  could  shout  '  Hoch ! '  to  the 
working  population  of  Berlin." 
"Protokoll,  1907,  pp.  327-8. 


200    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

greatly  enlarged  electorate.  The  majority  of  the  work- 
ingmen  are  already  in  the  party,  where  will  the  in- 
crease come  from  ? 

There  are  two  directions  in  which  the  party  can 
hope  to  gain  new  recruits — the  small  farmer  and  the 
small  tradesman.  The  small  farmer  is  peculiarly  hard 
to  reach.  He  is  well  guarded — the  Church  on  the 
one  side,  the  landlord  and  junker  on  the  other.  To 
step  in  and  steal  his  heart  is  a  very  difficult  task. 
The  work  is  pushed  steadily,  with  tenacity,  but  results 
are  slow  in  coming. 

Among  the  tradespeople  and  business  men,  there  is 
more  rapid  progress,  especially  in  southern  Germany. 
In  Munich  a  great  many  tradespeople  vote  for  Von 
Vollmar.44 

Primarily  it  will  always  be  a  workingman's  party. 
Its  soul  is  the  labor  movement.  Its  political  aim  is 
democracy,  and  its  hope  is  the  power  of  sheer  pre- 
ponderance of  numbers.  What  it  will  do  when  it  has 
that  power  is  a  speculation  that  does  not  lure  the 
prosaic  Teutonic  mind.  "  We  will  find  plenty  to  do," 
one  of  them  said,  "  when  we  have  the  government. 
We  have  plenty  to  do  now,  that  we  haven't  the  gov- 
ernment." This  is  wisdom  learned  of  France. 

This  means  that  the  party  have  given  up  their  "splen- 
did isolation  " — what  Von  Vollmar  called  their  "  policy 
of  sterility  and  despair"45 — a  policy  which  they  ac- 

**  Amongst  the  business  people  of  Mannheim,  Munich,  and 
other  cities  in  Baden,  Bavaria,  and  Hesse,  there  are  many  who 
support  the  Social  Democratic  candidates,  because,  they  say, 
there  is  no  genuinely  liberal  party.  It  should,  however,  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  Social  Democrats  of  these  southern  districts 
are  liberal  and  progressive,  not  the  unbending,  orthodox  variety 
of  Prussia. 

a  VON  VOLLMAR,  Uber  die  Aufgaben  der  Deutschen  Social- 
Demokratie, 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS  201 

knowledged  by  words  long  after  they  had  abandoned 
it  in  fact.  They  abandoned  it  the  moment  they  cham- 
pioned labor  legislation,  and  sought  the  sanitation  of 
cities  and  the  opening  of  parks,  in  their  municipal 
councils. 

The  pressure  of  things  as  they  are  has  been  too 
powerful  for  even  the  German  Social  Democracy,  with 
its  dogmatic  temper  and  strength  of  millions.  Revo- 
lution has,  even  here,  been  replaced  by  a  slow  and 
orderly  development. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  medieval  empire  will 
be  democratized  will  depend  upon  the  formation  of  a 
genuine  liberal  party  that  will  enlist  those  citizens  who 
are  inclined  toward  modernism  but  cannot  be  en- 
ticed into  the  Social  Democratic  or  Radical  parties. 
When  such  a  party  is  formed,  and  an  alliance  made 
with  the  Social  Democrats,  then  the  transformations 
will  be  rapid.46  Among  the  most  significant  accessions 
to  the  Social  Democracy  are  many  professional  men: 
lawyers,  physicians,  engineers,  etc.  This  augurs  a 
change  in  party  spirit  and  method.  Dr.  Frank  of 
Mannheim  told  me  that  he  considered  the  extent  to 
which  the  party  could  lure  the  intellectual  element  the 
measure  of  the  party  greatness  and  power. 


VI 

A  word  should  be  added  upon  the  attitude  of  the 
Social  Democrats  toward  militarism.  The  standing 
army  and  the  increasing  navy  of  Germany  are  a  heavy 

**The  Hansa  Bund  (Hanseatic  League),  organized  a  few 
years  ago,  may  be  the  nucleus  of  such  a  party.  It  is  composed 
of  smaller  manufacturers  and  business  men  opposed  to  tariffs 
and  the  trusts,  and  in  favor  of  a  more  liberal  government. 


202    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

tax  upon  the  people.  The  Germans  for  centuries  have 
been  military  in  ambition,  soldiers  by  instinct. 

The  Social  Democrats,  in  common  with  all  Social- 
ists, are  opposed  to  war.  But  the  German  is  a  patriot. 
In  the  International  Congress  at  Stuttgart,  the  French 
and  Russian  delegations  imposed  an  extreme  anti-mil- 
itary resolution  upon  the  Socialists,  against  the  protest 
of  the  Germans.  Bebel  called  their  anti-patriotic  utter- 
ances "  silly  word- juggling."  4T 

The  Berlin  congress,  1892,  adopted  the  following 
resolution,  in  view  of  the  added  military  burdens  pro- 
posed by  the  Reichstag :  "  The  prevailing  military 
system,  not  being  able  to  guarantee  the  country  against 
foreign  invasion,  is  a  continual  threat  to  international 
peace  and  serves  the  capitalistic  class-government, 
whose  aim  is  the  industrial  exploitation  and  suppres- 
sion of  the  working  classes,  as  an  instrument  of  oppres- 
sion against  the  masses. 

"  The  party  convention  therefore  demands,  in  con- 
sonance with  the  program  of  the  Social  Democratic 
platform,  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  defense 
based  upon  a  general  militia,  trained  and  armed.  The 
congress  declares  that  the  Social  Democratic  mem- 
bers of  the  Reichstag  are  in  complete  accord  with  the 
party  and  with  the  politically  organized  working 
classes  of  Germany,  when  they  vote  against  every 
measure  of  the  government  aimed  at  perpetuating  the 
present  military  system."  48 

During  a  debate  in  the  Reichstag  in  1907,  Bebel 
declared,  in  the  defense  of  the  Fatherland,  if  it  were 
invaded,  even  he  in  his  old  age  would  "  shoulder  a 
musket."  He  demanded  military  drill  for  youths 

a  Protokoll,  Social  Democratic  Party,  1907,  p.  228. 
*Protokoll,  1892,  p.  132. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS  203 

as  a  preliminary  to  the  shortening  of  military  service  in 
the  standing  army;  if  this  were  not  done  the  defense 
of  the  country  would  be  weakened  whenever  the  service 
shall  be  reduced  to  one  year. 

The  Chancellor  had  on  this  occasion  introduced  a 
bill  making  all  military  service  uniformly  two  years, 
and  abolishing  the  privileges  that  had  been  granted  to 
a  few  favored  classes. 

For  this  action  they  were  severely  criticised  in  the 
next  party  convention.  Bebel  replied :  "  I  said,  if 
the  Fatherland  really  must  be  defended,  then  we  will 
defend  it.  Because  it  is  our  Fatherland.  It  is  the  land 
in  which  we  live,  whose  language  we  speak,  whose 
culture  we  possess.  Because  we  wish  to  make  this, 
our  Fatherland,  more  beautiful  and  more  complete 
than  any  other  land  on  earth.  We  defend  it,  there- 
fore, not  for  you  but  against  you."  49  This  patri- 
otic declamation  was  received  with  "  tremendous 
applause." 

Von  Vollmar,  himself  a  soldier  of  distinction,  said, 
in  the  Bavarian  Diet,  a  few  years  ago: 

"  If  the  necessity  should  arise  for  the  protection  of 
the  realm  against  foreign  invasion,  then  it  will  be- 
come evident  that  the  Social  Democrats  love  their 
Fatherland  no  less  than  do  their  neighbors;  that  they 
will  as  gladly  and  heroically  offer  themselves  to  its 
defense.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  foolish  notion 
should  ever  arise  to  use  the  army  for  the  support  of 
a  warring  class  prerogative,  for  the  defense  of  inde- 
feasible demands,  and  for  the  crushing  of  those  just 
ambitions  which  are  the  product  of  our  times,  and  a 
necessary  concomitant  of  our  economic  and  political 
development, — then  we  are  of  the  firm  conviction  that 

"Protokoll,  1907,  p.  255. 


204    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

the  day  will  come  when  the  army  will  remember  that 
it  sprang  from  the  people,  and  that  its  own  interests 
are  those  of  the  masses." 

This  makes  their  position  very  clear. 


VII 

The  party  that  for  years  held  itself  in  disdainful 
aloofness,  was  so  defiant  of  co-operation,  in  the  na- 
tional parliament,  is  ductile,  neighborly,  and  eager  to 
help  in  the  municipal  and  communal  councils.  It  has  a 
communal  program  of  practical  details,  and  no  small 
part  of  the  splendid  progress  in  municipal  administra- 
tion in  Germany  is  due  to  the  Social  Democrats. 
Everywhere  you  hear  praise  from  officials  and  from 
political  rivals  for  the  careful  work  of  the  Social 
Democratic  members  of  municipal  bodies. 

Owing  to  the  unfavorable  election  laws,  the  So- 
cial Democrats  do  not  elect  a  large  number  of  members 
to  local  councils.  In  no  important  city  do  they  pre- 
ponderate. If  universal  manhood  suffrage  were  en- 
acted, they  would  control  the  majority  of  the  local  leg- 
islative bodies.  As  it  is,  they  are  an  active  minority, 
and  guard  jealously  the  interests  of  the  working  classes. 

Munich  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  city  in  which 
the  Social  Democrats  are  active.60 

In  1907  there  were  130,000  qualified  electors  for  the 
Reichstag  election  in  Munich,  in  1905  there  were  only 
31,252  qualified  electors  for  the  municipal  elections. 

80  See  Die  Sosial-Demokratie  im  Miinchener  Rathaus,  issued 
by  the  Bavarian  party  executive  committee,  1908.  Also  Die 
Sosial-Demokratie  im  Bayerischen  Landtag,  1888-1905,  3  vols., 
issued  by  the  Party  Press  in  Munich;  and  E.  AUER,  Arbeiter- 
politik  im  Bayerischen  Landtag. 


GERMAN  SOCIALISM  AND  LABOR  UNIONS   205 

This  shows  the  restrictive  influence  of  property  quali- 
fications for  local  elections. 

In  a  city  council  of  60  members,  the  Social  Demo- 
crats elected  only  9.  And  of  20  elected  members 
of  the  chamber  of  magistrates  they  elected  only  3. 

This  minority  is  an  active  committee  of  scrutiny. 
It  carefully  and  minutely  scrutinizes  all  the  acts  of  the 
municipal  authorities,  especially  pertaining  to  labor,  to 
contracts  for  public  work,  and  to  the  conditions  of  city 
employees.  They  vote  consistently  in  favor  of  the  en- 
largement of  municipal  powers;  e.g.,  the  extension  of 
parks,  of  street-car  lines,  the  building  of  larger  mar- 
kets. For  a  number  of  years  the  Social  Democrats  of 
Munich  have  urged  the  utilizing  of  the  water  power  of 
the  Isar,  which  rushes  through  the  city.  And  the  mu- 
nicipality is  now  utilizing  some  of  .this  power. 

The  Social  Democrats  also  favor  every  facility  for 
the  extension  of  the  art  and  culture  for  which  Munich 
is  justly  celebrated.  They  take  no  narrow,  provincial 
views  of  such  questions,  and  set  an  example  that  might 
with  profit  be  followed  by  parties  who  claim  for  them- 
selves the  prerogative  of  culture.  They  are  constantly 
working  for  better  public  educational  facilities,  and 
are  especially  hostile  to  the  encroachments  of  the 
Church  upon  the  domain  of  public  education. 

They  are  in  favor  of  increased  public  expenditures ; 
opposed  to  all  indirect  taxes,  especially  those  that 
tend  to  raise  the  price  of  food. 

Their  special  grievance  is  the  property  qualification 
required  for  voting.  They  say  that  a  law  which  allows 
only  one-fifteenth  of  the  citizens  (30,000  out  of  over 
500,000)  a  right  to  vote  is  "  shameful,"  and  they  are 
bending  every  effort  to  change  the  law. 

What  is  true  in  Munich  is  true  in  other  cities: 


206    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

democratic  election  laws  are  denied  them.  But  they 
are  active  everywhere,  and  do  not  despise  the  doing 
of  small  details,  doing  them  well  and  with  zest.  It  is 
obvious  that  Socialism  in  Germany  cannot  be  put  to 
a  constructive  test  until  the  election  laws  are  democ- 
ratized and  the  higher  administrative  offices  are 
opened  to  them.  That  will  bring  the  real  test  of  this 
colossal  movement. 

We  may  sum  it  all  up  by  saying  that  Social  Democ- 
racy in  Germany  is  first  of  all  a  struggle  for  democ- 
racy. The  accent  is  on  the  second  part  of  the 
compound.  It  is,  secondly,  a  struggle  for  the  self- 
betterment  of  the  working  classes;  and  it  is,  thirdly, 
a  protest  against  certain  conditions  that  the  present 
organization  of  society  imposes  upon  mankind. 

An  American  sojourning  among  the  German  people 
must  be  impressed  with  the  painstaking  organization 
of  the  empire.  Every  detail  of  life  is  carefully  ordered 
to  avoid  waste  and  to  secure  efficiency,  even  at  the 
cost  of  individual  initiative.  This  military  empire, 
of  infinite  discipline,  is  now  undergoing  a  political 
metamorphosis.  The  force  that  is  bringing  about  the 
change  is  being  generated  at  the  bottom  of  the  social 
strata,  not  at  the  top.  This  signifies  that  a  change  is 
sure  to  come. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY 


WE  come  now  to  the  land  of  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion— that  colossal  upheaval  which  changed  the  face  of 
society,  as  the  vast  continental  uplifts  of  past  geological 
epochs  changed  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  just  as 
the  continents  were  centuries  in  settling  themselves 
to  their  new  conditions,  so  human  society  is  now 
slowly  adjusting  itself  to  the  conditions  wrought  by 
this  violent  change.  One  of  the  evidences  of  this 
gradual  readjustment  is  Socialism.  For  to  Socialism 
machine  industry  is  a  condition  precedent.  In  this 
sense  England  has  produced  modern  Socialism. 

There  is  no  blacker  picture  than  the  England  of 
1780  to  1840,  and  no  drearier  contrast  than  the  quaint 
villages  and  their  household  industries  of  the  earlier 
period  and  the  "  spreading  of  the  hideous  town,"  after 
Arkwright  and  Hargreaves  and  Watt.  These  inhuman 
conditions  are  faithfully  and  dispassionately  revealed 
in  the  reports  of  the  various  Royal  Commissions  of 
Inquiry:  statistical  mines  where  Marx  and  Engels 
found  abundant  material  for  their  philosophy  of 
gloom.  And  from  these  dull  and  depressing  govern- 
ment folios  Charles  Kingsley  drew  his  indignant  in- 
vectives, and  Carlyle  his  trenchant  indictments  against 
a  society  that  would  imprison  its  eight-year-old  chil- 

207 


208    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

dren,  its  mothers,  land  its  grandmothers  in  dingy 
factories  fourteen  hours  a  day  for  the  sake  of  profits, 
and  then  release  them  at  night  only  to  find  lodgings 
in  the  most  miserable  hovels  and  rickety  tenements.  It 
is  almost  surprising  to  one  familiar  with  the  details 
of  this  gruesome  record  that  a  social  revolution  did 
not  follow  immediately  in  the  wake  of  the  industrial 
revolution. 

There  were  riots  at  first,  and  machines  were 
smashed.  But  the  hand  of  the  worker  was  impotent 
against  the  arm  of  steel.  The  workman  soon  resigned 
himself  to  his  fate  and  his  misery.  The  poor  laws  did 
not  help,  they  only  multiplied  the  burdens  upon  the 
state  without  taking  the  load  from  the  poor.  The 
laborer  was  too  helpless  to  help  himself,  and  the  state 
and  society  were  apathetic.  The  rapid  expansion  of 
industry  found  an  ample  outlet  in  the  growing  com- 
merce to  every  corner  of  the  world.  England  was 
making  money.  She  was  gradually  shifting  control 
from  the  traditional  landowner  to  the  new  factory 
owner.  The  landed  gentry  had  inherited  a  fine  sense 
of  patriarchal  responsibility.  The  factory  owner  had 
no  traditions.  He  was  a  parvenu.  His  interests  were 
machinery  and  ships,  not  politics  and  humanity.  He 
acquiesced  in  the  poor  laws  as  the  easiest  way  out  of  a 
miserable  mess;  he  let  private  charity  take  its  feeble 
and  intermittent  course,  paying  his  rates  and  giving 
his  donations  with  self-satisfied  sanctity. 

All  this  time  labor  was  abundant.  The  markets  of 
the  world  were  hungry  for  the  goods  of  English  mills. 
Then  came  suddenly  the  Chartist  Movement.1  The 
flame  of  discontent  spread  and  a  revolution  seemed 

*See  supra,  p.  51. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     209 

impending.  This  first  great  outbreak  of  English  labor 
was  a  political  movement,  fed  by  economic  causes. 
The  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  and  the  passage  of  the 
factory  acts  modified  economic  conditions  and  molli- 
fied labor  for  the  time.  The  repeal  of  the  corn  laws 
brought  cheaper  food;  the  factory  acts  brought  bet- 
ter conditions  of  labor. 

Meanwhile  individualism  was  evolving  an  economic 
creed.  The  Manchester  doctrine  was  the  logical  out- 
come of  England's  insular  position  and  her  driving 
individualistic  manufactures.  But  it  was  laissez-faire 
in  industrialism,  not  in  unionism.  The  laboring  men 
were  now  beginning  to  organize,  and  Cobden  himself 
proposed  the  act  that  made  unionism  ineffective  as  a 
political  force.  However,  indirectly,  free  trade  stimu- 
lated labor,  because  it  brought  great  prosperity,  made 
work  abundant,  and  employers  sanguine.  Unions 
now  rapidly  multiplied,  but  they  were  local,  isolated. 
Their  federation  into  a  great  national  body  came 
later. 

Socialism,  or  unionism,  or  any  other  general  move- 
ment cannot  develop  in  England  with  the  rapidity  and 
enthusiasm  that  is  shown  for  "  movements  "  on  the 
Continent.  The  traditions  of  the  English  people  are 
constitutional.  Socialism  can  thrive  among  them  only 
if  it  is  "  constitutional,"  and  the  Fabians  are  to-day 
talking  about  "  constitutional  Socialism  "  with  judicial 
solemnity.  All  the  training  of  the  English  people  is 
contrary  to  the  theory  of  progress  through  violence. 
They  have  had  few  revolutions  accompanied  by  blood- 
shed, they  have  had  a  great  many  accompanied  by 
prayers  and  Parliamentary  oratory — "  constitutional  " 
methods.  They  have,  moreover,  a  real  reverence  for 
property.  The  poor  who  have  none  are  taught  to  re- 


210   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

spect  the  rich  who  have.  The  Church,  the  common 
law,  the  statute  law,  the  customs,  all  the  sources  of 
tradition  and  habit,  have  emphasized  the  sanctity  of 
property.  Only  within  the  last  few  decades,  as  will 
be  seen  presently,  has  a  radical  change,  a  veritable 
revolution,  come  over  the  people  in  this  respect. 

The  British  temperament  is  not  given  to  nerves. 
This  stolid,  phlegmatic,  self-contained  individualist  has 
no  inflammable  material  in  his  heart.  Ruskin  failed  to 
arouse  him,  he  wove  too  much  artistry  into  his  appeal ; 
and  Carlyle  could  not  move  him,  his  epigrams  were 
too  rhapsodical.  Such  temperaments  are  not  given  to 
rapid  propagandism.  And  finally,  the  Englishman  is 
too  practical  to  be  a  utopist.  He  concerns  himself 
with  the  duties  of  to-day  rather  than  the  vagaries  of 
to-morrow.  Utopianism  made  no  impression  on  him. 
Owen,  the  great  Utopian,  was  a  Welshman.  The  Celt 
has  imagination.  Nor  do  intricate  theories  or  involved 
philosophies  touch  the  mind  of  the  Briton.  The 
splendor  that  enraptures  the  Frenchman,  the  abstruse 
reasoning  that  delights  the  German,  are  alike  boredom 
to  this  practical  inventor  of  machinery  and  builder  of 
ships. 

In  spite  of  these  characteristics  there  is  no  country 
in  Europe  where  there  is  more  agitation  about  Social- 
ism than  there  is  in  England  to-day.  It  is  discussed 
everywhere.  Almost  the  entire  time  of  Parliament 
during  the  past  few  years  has  been  taken  up  with  more 
or  less  "  Socialistic  "  legislation.  The  public  mind  is 
steeped  in  it. 

There  is  more  actually  being  done  in  England  to- 
ward the  "  socialization  "  of  property,  and  the  state, 
than  in  any  other  European  country.  And  less  being 
said  about  the  theory  of  value,  the  class  war,  capital- 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     211 

istic  production,  proletariat  and  bourgeois,  and  the 
other  Continental  pet  phrases  of  Socialism. 

Marx,  who  lived  among  the  English  for  many  years, 
but  whose  heart  was  never  with  them,  would  not  call 
this  rapid  social  movement  Socialistic,  because  it  does 
not  avowedly  "  aim  "  at  "  socializing  capitalistic  pro- 
duction." The  doings  of  the  English  are  certainly  not 
accomplished  in  the  spirit  of  his  orthodoxy.  But 
the  current  toward  state  control,  toward  pure  democ- 
racy, land  nationalization,  nationalization  of  railways 
and  mines,  has  set  in  with  the  swiftness  of  a 
mill-race  and  is  grinding  grist  with  an  amazing 
rapidity. 

As  I  write  these  words,  London  and  the  whole  coun- 
try are  wrought  up  over  Lloyd  George's  Insurance  Bill 
and  the  projected  ballot  reform  bill.  Meetings  every- 
where, fervid  Parliamentary  debate,  the  papers  filled 
with  letters  from  everybody;  every  organization,  de- 
bating society,  and  board  of  directors  of  great  indus- 
tries passing  resolutions.  Even  the  Labor  Party  is  di- 
vided over  the  paternalistic  measure  that  aims  to 
bring  relief  to  the  sick  and  disabled  working  man  and 
woman.  Amidst  all  this  discussion,  noise,  and  party 
zeal  is  discerned  the  drift  of  the  nation  toward  a  new 
and  unexpected  goal. 

Nowhere  is  it  so  difficult  to  define  a  Socialist,  or 
to  mark  boundaries  to  the  movement.  But  why  mark 
shore-lines  ?  The  flood  is  on.  I  will  here  take  the  posi- 
tion that  whatever  extends  the  functions  of  the  state 
(community)  over  property,  or  into  activities  formerly 
left  to  individuals  or  to  the  home,  is  an  indication  of 
the  Socialistic  trend.  Old-fashioned  Socialists  like 
Keir  Hardie  are  constantly  warning  the  people  that 
what  is  now  going  on  in  England  is  only  social  reform, 


212    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

not  Socialism.  The  Fabians,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
exerting  every  effort  to  add  to  the  swiftness  of  the 
present  movement. 

To  a  student  of  democracy  things  now  passing  into 
law,  and  events  now  shaping  into  history,  in  Eng- 
land, are  of  peculiar  significance.  Such  events,  trans- 
piring in  a  country  so  long  abandoned  to  a  rampant 
individualism,  are  portents  of  a  newer  time.  They 
are  signals  of  approaching  changes  to  America,  to  us 
who  have  inherited  the  common  law,  the  governmental 
traditions,  the  democratic  ideals  of  liberty,  if  not  the 
substantial  stolidity  of  temperament  and  self-com- 
placent egoism  of  the  Briton. 

All  parties,  Socialists  and  Conservatives,  will  admit 
this :  that  all  this  turmoil,  these  rapidly  succeeding  gen- 
eral elections,  these  public  discussions,  these  new  laws, 
indicate  that  a  new  social  ideal  is  being  formed.  That 
in  itself  is  worthy  of  consideration.  For  the  ideal 
will  shape  the  destiny. 


ii 

Present-day  Socialism  in  England  seems  to  have 
risen  to  sudden  magnitude  from  vacuity,  to  have  per- 
meated this  cautious  island  over  night.  For  over  a 
generation  all  Socialism  had  disappeared  from  view. 
The  elaborate  schemes  of  Owen,  the  altruistic  propa- 
ganda under  the  gentle  Kingsley  and  his  noble  com- 
panion Maurice,  the  artistic  revolt  against  the  ugliness 
of  commercialism  led  by  Ruskin,  who  even  shared 
the  toil  of  the  breakers  of  stones  to  prove  his  sincerity 
— all  these  movements  seem  suddenly  to  have  disap- 
peared from  the  face  of  the  island,  like  a  glacial  cur- 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY    213 

rent  dropping  suddenly,  without  warning,  into  the 
depths  of  the  Moulin. 

England  was  given  over  to  a  highly  prosperous 
industrialism.  The  Manchester  doctrine  was  en- 
throned. Commercialism  and  a  glittering  pseudo- 
humanitarian  internationalism  found  expression  in  the 
alternating  victories  of  the  astute  Disraeli  and  the 
grandiloquent  Gladstone. 

Meanwhile  poverty  and  misery  infested  the  under- 
places  of  the  land,  a  poverty  and  misery  that  was 
appalling.  Every  protester  was  proudly  pointed  to 
the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws,  the  revision  of  the  poor 
laws,  the  reform  act  of  1832,  and  the  factory  acts. 

When  Sir  Henry  Vane  had  ascended  the  scaffold 
which  his  sacrifice  made  historic,  he  said :  "  The  people 
of  England  have  long  been  asleep;  when  they  awake 
they  will  be  hungry."  When  the  England  of  to-day 
awoke  it  was  to  a  greater  hunger  than  the  politically 
starved  Roundhead  or  Cavalier  ever  endured. 

It  is  no  figure  of  speech  to  speak  of  hungry  Eng- 
land. Its  brilliant  industrialism  has  always  had  a  drab 
background  of  want.  Chiozza  Money  says  of  the  pres- 
ent position  of  labor :  "  The  aggregate  income  of  the 
44,500,000  people  in  the  United  Kingdom  in  1908-9 
was  approximately  £1,844,000,000;  1,400,000  persons 
took  £634,000,000;  4,100,000  persons  took  £275,000,- 
ooo;  39,000,000  persons  took  £935,000,000."  2  And  he 
sums  up  the  condition  as  follows :  "  The  position  of 
the  manual  workers  in  relation  to  the  general  wealth 
of  the  country  has  not  improved.  They  formed,  with 
those  dependent  upon  them,  the  greater  part  of  the  na- 
tion in  1867,  and  they  enjoyed  but  about  forty  per 

2  See  CHIOZZA  MONEY,  Riches  and  Poverty,  first  page,  edi- 
tion 1911. 


214    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

cent,  of  the  national  income,  according  to  the  careful 
estimate  of  Dudley  Baxter.  To-day,  with  their  army 
of  dependents,  they  still  form  the  greater  part  of  the 
nation,  although  not  quite  so  great  a  part,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  best  information  available,  they  take 
less  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  income  of  the 
nation."  Although  during  this  time  the  national  in- 
come had  increased  much  faster  than  the  rate  of  popu- 
lation, "  the  Board  of  Trade,  after  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  question  of  unemployment  in  1904,  arrived 
at  the  general  conclusion  that  '  the  average  level  of 
employment  during  the  last  4  years  has  been  almost 
exactly  the  same  as  the  average  of  the  preceding 
40  years.' " 3 

While  the  general  level  of  wage-earners  has  been 
maintained,  and  while  wealth  has  greatly  increased, 
the  poverty  of  the  kingdom  has  shown  little  tendency 
to  diminish.  "  As  for  pauperism,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
gratulate ourselves  upon  improvement  since  1867, 
when  we  remember  that  in  England  and  Wales  alone 
1,500,000  to  2,000,000  persons  are  in  receipt  of  relief 
in  the  course  of  a  single  year.  This  means  one  person 
in  every  20  has  recourse  to  the  poor-law  guardians  dur- 
ing a  single  year." 

"  If  our  national  income  had  but  increased  at  the 
same  rate  as  our  population  since  1867,  it  would  in 
19x38  have  amounted  to  but  about  £1,200,000,000.  As 
we  have  seen,  it  is  now  about  £1,840,000,000.  Yet  the 
Error  in  Distribution  remains  so  great,  that,  while  the 
total  population  in  1867  was  30,000,000,  we  have  to- 
day a  nation  of  30,000,000  poor  people  in  our  rich 
country,  and  many  millions  of  these  are  living  under 
conditions  of  degrading  poverty.  Of  those  above  the 

•  Op.  cit.,  p.  337- 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     215 

line  of  primary  poverty,  millions  are  tied  down  by  the 
conditions  of  their  labor  to  live  in  surroundings  which 
preclude  the  proper  enjoyment  of  life  or  the  proper 
raising  of  children."  * 

An  event  occurred  in  1889  that  aroused  public 
opinion  on  the  question  of  labor  conditions.  The 
dockers  along  the  great  wharves  in  London  went  out 
on  strike,  and  forced  public  attention  upon  the  misery 
of  these  most  wretched  of  British  workmen,5  whose 
wages  were  so  low  that  they  could  not  buy  bread  for 
their  families  and  their  employment  was  so  irregular 
that  they  were  idle  half  of  the  time.  John  Burns  came 
into  prominence  first  during  this  strike.  He  raised 
over  $200,000  by  public  appeals  to  support  the  strikers. 
General  sympathy  was  with  the  men ;  and  the  arbitra- 
tors to  whom  their  grievances  were  submitted  awarded 
most  of  their  demands. 

The  effect  of  this  strike  was  far-reaching.  All  over 
the  kingdom  unskilled  labor  was  roused  to  its  power, 
and  a  new  era  in  labor  organization  began. 


in 

In  no  country  has  the  labor-union  movement 
achieved  a  greater  degree  of  organization  than  in 
England.8  The  movement  has  been  economic,  turning 
to  politics  only  in  recent  years ;  it  concerned  itself  with 
wages  and  conditions  of  labor,  not  with  party  pro- 
grams and  Parliamentary  candidates. 

4  Op.  cit.,  pp.  337-8. 

*  See  V.  NASH  and  H.  L.  SMITH,  The  Story  of  the  Dockers' 
Strike,  London,  1890. 

'  See  SIDNEY  and  BEATRICE  WEBB,  History  of  Trades  Union- 
ism, London,  1911. 


216    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

The  characteristic  feature  of  English  trade-union- 
ism is  collective  bargaining,  long  since  introduced  into 
America,  but  unknown  in  most  European  countries. 
The  English  unions  also  organized  insurance  societies 
called  "  Friendly  Societies."  7 

For  many  years  the  laws  regulating  labor  unions 
had  been  liberally  construed  by  the  courts,  and  the 
unions  had  done  very  much  as  they  pleased.  Two  de- 
cisions have  been  rendered  during  the  last  decade  that 
threatened  the  unions'  existence  both  as  a  political  and 
economic  force. 

In  1900  the  Taff  Vale  Railway  Company  brought 
suit  against  the  Amalgamated  Society  of  Railway 
Servants,  charging  the  men  with  conspiring  to  induce 
the  workmen  to  break  their  contracts  with  the  com- 
pany. The  court  enjoined  the  union  from  picketing 
and  from  interfering  with  the  men  in  their  contractual 
relations  with  the  employing  company,  and  assessed 
the  damages  at  $100,000  against  the  offending  union. 
The  House  of  Lords,  sitting  in  final  appeal,  affirmed 
the  judgment  of  the  trial  court.  This  virtually  meant 
the  stopping  of  strikes,  for  strikes  without  pickets  and 
vigilance  would  usually  be  unavailing.  It  also  meant 
financial  bankruptcy. 

7  There  are  about  650,000  members  in  those  unions  that  pay 
out-of-work  benefits.  The  following  table  gives  some  con- 
ception of  the  magnitude  of  the  out-of-work  problem  in  Eng- 
land. It  shows  the  sums  expended  by  the  unions  for  out-of- 
work  relief: 
Year  Amount  Year  Amount 

1898 £  234,000       1903   £  516,000 

1899 185,000       1904 655,000 

1900 261,000       1905   523,000 

1901   325,000       1906 424,000 

1902 429,000       1907 466,000 

Out  of  a  body  of  15,000,000  workmen,  Chiozza  Money  estimates 
{hat  500,000  are  always  out  of  work.  Opus  cit.,  p.  122. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     217 

A  second  far-reaching  decision  was  made  by  the 
House  of  Lords  in  December,  1909,  when  the  "  Os- 
borne  Judgment "  was  affirmed,  granting  to  one 
Osborne,  a  member  of  the  Amalgamated  Society  of 
Railway  Servants,  an  injunction  restraining  the  union 
from  making  a  levy  on  its  members,  and  from  using 
any  of  its  funds  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  any 
of  its  members,  or  any  other  person,  in  Parliament. 
The  unions  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  they  had  the 
legal  right  to  contribute  out  of  their  funds  to  political 
campaigns,  and  to  pay  the  labor  members  of  Parlia- 
ment a  salary  out  of  the  union  treasury.8  The  court 
held  such  payments  were  illegal,  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  ultra  vires.  The  charter  of  the  unions  did 
not  sanction  it.9 

The  English  workman  has  not  only  had  the  trade 
union  for  a  training  school  in  practical  affairs,  but  the 
co-operative  movement  began  here;  and  here  it  flour- 
ishes, not  as  widely  spread  among  the  poorer  workmen 
as  in  Belgium,  but  among  the  better-paid  workers  it  is 
very  popular. 

It  is  singular  that  the  only  practical  result  left  of 
Owen's  stupendous  plans  was  the  little  co-operative 
shop,  opened  in  1844  at  Rochdale,  with  a  capital  of 
$140  and  a  gross  weekly  income  of  $10.  Owen  did 
not  start  this  shop,  but  a  handful  of  his  followers 
were  the  promoters  of  the  tiny  enterprise.  The  co- 
operative union  to-day  embraces  wholesale,  retail, 

8  Members  of  Parliament  received  no  pay  until  191 1,  when 
the  Radical-Liberal  government  passed  a  law  giving  each  mem- 
ber a  salary  of  $2,000  a  year. 

*  A  discussion  of  this  case  from  the  Fabian  point  of  view  is 
found  in  the  Preface  to  WEBB'S  History  of  Trades  Unionism,  edi- 
tion of  1911.  The  labor  unions  and  the  Labor  Party  have  issued 
pamphlets  on  these  two  decisions.  The  legal  points  are  fully 
discussed  in  the  official  reports  of  the  cases. 


218    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

productive,  and  special  societies,  with  nearly  3,000,000 
members,  increasing  at  the  rate  of  70,000  a  year,  and 
doing  $550,000,000  worth  of  business  annually. 

There  is  also  a  rapidly  growing  co-partnership 
movement,  especially  in  the  building  of  "  garden 
suburbs  "  and  tenements.  In  1903  there  were  two 
such  companies,  with  $200,000  worth  of  property.  In 
1909  they  had  increased  to  15  associations,  with  over 
$3,085,000  worth  of  property.  The  membership  is  not 
confined  to  workingmen,  but  they  form  the  bulk.10 

From  the  beginning  of  the  modern  labor  movement 
we  see  that  the  British  workmen  have  shown  a  strong 
tendency  to  organize.  Their  organizations  included  at 
first  only  the  skilled  workers.  There  was  a  gulf  be- 
tween the  trained  worker  and  the  unskilled  worker. 
The  latter,  forming  the  substratum  of  poverty,  were 
too  abject  for  organizing. 

These  two  great  bodies  of  workers,  skilled  and  un- 
skilled, have  been  gradually  brought  together  and 
their  interests  united.  The  Taff  Vale  and  Osborne 
judgments  have  forced  them  into  politics.  The  un- 
skilled have  been  given  the  benefit  of  the  experience 
of  the  skilled,  and  a  fair  degree  of  homogeneity  and 
group  ambition  has  been  reached. 

To  enter  politics  a  new  form  of  organization  was 
necessary.  We  will  see  how  one  was  prepared  for 
them. 

IV 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  Socialist  organizations. 
They  are  more  numerous  than  in  the  other  countries 

"There  are  15,000,000  working  men  and  women  in  Great 
Britain ;  3,000,000  belong  to  co-operative  enterprises,  2,500,000 
to  trade  unions. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY    219 

we  have  studied,  and  more  varied  in  color.  But  not 
any  of  them  are  as  strong  as  the  French  or  German 
organizations. 

In  1880  William  Morris  and  H.  M.  Hyndman,  a 
personal  friend  of  Marx,  organized  the  "  Democratic 
Federation."  For  a  few  years  it  was  the  only  So- 
cialist organization.  It  split  on  the  question  of  revo- 
lution. Morris  and  his  friends,  many  of  them  in- 
clined toward  Anarchy,  founded  the  "  Socialist 
League."  This  league  has  long  since  vanished. 
Hyndman  and  his  followers  renamed  their  society 
the  "  Social  Democratic  Federation."  It  still  persists, 
under  the  name  Social  Democratic  Party  (popularly 
"  S.  D.  P."),  and  remains  the  only  organized  trace 
of  militant,  reactionary  Marxianism  in  England.  For 
a  long  time  it  refrained  from  politics,  advocated  vio- 
lence, and  was  the  faithful  imitator  of  the  Guesdist 
party  in  France.  These  are  doctrines  and  methods 
that  repel  the  English  mind,  and  the  Federation  never 
has  been  strong.  It  has  a  weekly  paper,  Justice,  and  a 
monthly  paper,  The  Social  Democrat;  claims  one 
member  in  Parliament,  elected  however  by  the  Labor 
Party,  and  (in  1907)  124  members  of  various  local 
governing  bodies.  Its  aged  leader,  Hyndman,  clings 
tenaciously  to  the  dogmas  of  Marx,  and  all  the 
changes  that  have  come  over  the  Socialist  movement 
during  the  last  decades  have  not  altered  his  views  or 
methods.11  The  Federation's  affiliations  and  sympathy 
have  been  with  the  International  rather  than  the  Brit- 
ish movement,  and  until  a  few  years  ago  it  monopo- 
lized British  representation  on  the  International  Ex- 
ecutive Committee. 

Soon  after  Morris  left  the  Federation  a  new  and 

11  See  H.  M.  HYNDMAN,  Autobiography,  London,  1911. 


220   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

novel  Socialist  society  was  formed  in  London.  Two 
Americans  gave  the  impulse  that  started  the  move- 
ment— Henry  George,  through  his  works  on  Single 
Tax,  and  Thomas  Davidson  of  New  York,  a  gentle 
dreamer  of  the  New  To-morrow.  Henry  George's 
books  had  been  read  by  a  group  of  young  men  in  Lon- 
don, and  when  Dr.  Davidson  went  there  to  lecture  he 
found  these  young  men  ready  to  listen  to  his  Utopian 
generalizations.  Soon  these  men  organized  the  Fabian 
Society.  They  were  not  sure  of  their  ground,  and 
took  for  their  motto :  "  For  the  right  moment  you 
must  wait  as  Fabius  did  when  warring  against  Han- 
nibal, though  many  censured  his  delays;  but  when  the 
time  comes  you  must  strike  hard,  as  Fabius  did,  or 
your  waiting  will  be  in  vain  and  fruitless." 

A  number  of  brilliant  young  men  soon  joined  the 
Fabians,  and  their  "  tracts "  have  become  famous. 
Among  their  members  they  include  Sidney  Webb,  the 
sociologist ;  George  Bernard  Shaw,  the  playwright  and 
cynic;  Chiozza  Money,  statistician  and  member  of 
Parliament;  Rev.  R.  J.  Campbell  of  the  City  Temple; 
Rev.  Stewart  Headlam,  leader  in  the  Church  Socialist 
Movement;  and  a  horde  of  others,  famous  in  letters, 
the  professions,  and  the  arts. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  influence  of  this  unique 
group  of  personages,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  under- 
estimate it.  From  the  first  they  committed  themselves 
to  the  policy  of  "  permeation,"  instead  of  aggressive 
propaganda.  They  would  transform  the  world  by 
intellectual  osmosis.  They  have,  thus,  not  only  con- 
tributed by  far  the  most  brilliant  literature  to  modern 
Socialism,  but  have  touched  some  of  the  inner  springs 
of  political  and  social  power.  Prime  ministers  and 
borough  councilmen,  poor-law  guardians  and  chan- 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     221 

cellors  of  the  exchequer,  have  been  influenced  by  the 
propulsion  of  their  ideas.  But  it  has  all  been  done  so 
noiselessly  and  so  well  disguised,  that  to  the  Social 
Democratic  Federation  the  Fabians  are  "  mere  aca- 
demicians," and  to  the  Independent  Labor  Party  they 
are  forerunners  of  "  tyrannical  bureaucracy." 

Eleven  Fabians  are  in  Parliament,  and  they  are  not 
silent  onlookers.  For  years  the  Fabians  have  domi- 
nated the  London  County  Council.  Its  brilliant  "  mis- 
sionaries "  attract  large  audiences,  and  "  Fabian  Es- 
says "  have  passed  through  many  editions.  Each 
member  of  this  society  is  the  creator  of  his  own 
dogma.  The  Marxian  formulas,  especially  the  theory 
of  surplus  value,  are  not  reverenced  by  them. 

England  is  the  only  country  in  Europe  where  there 
is  a  strong  Church  Socialist  Movement.  In  1889  the 
Christian  Social  Union  was  formed  by  members  of  the 
Church  of  England.  It  is  not  a  Socialist  organization, 
but  it  has  enlisted  a  wide  practical  interest  in  the  labor 
movement.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  Pan- Anglican 
Congress,  which  met  at  Lambeth  in  1888.  At  this  con- 
ference a  committee  on  Socialism  made  a  noteworthy 
report,  recommending  the  bringing  together  of  capi- 
tal and  labor  through  the  agency  of  co-operation  and 
association.12 

1JDr.  Wescott,  Bishop  of  Durham,  was  the  founder  of  the 
Christian  Social  Union.  His  pamphlet,  Socialism,  is  a  real  con- 
tribution to  the  literature  on  the  Church  and  its  relation  to 
labor.  The  present  attitude  of  the  Union  may  be  gleaned  from 
the  following  quotation  taken  from  the  letter  written  by  Dr. 
Gore,  Bishop  of  Birmingham,  to  his  diocese,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  transfer  to  the  bishopric  of  Oxford.  The  letter  was  written 
during  the  railway  and  dockers'  strike,  in  September,  191 1 : 
"  There  is  a  profound  sense  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  among 
workers  recently.  I  cannot  but  believe  that  this  profound  dis- 
content is  justified,  though  some  particular  exhibitions  of  it  are 
not.  As  Christians  we  are  not  justified  in  tolerating  the  con- 


222    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

In  1906  "  The  Church  Socialist  League  "  was  or- 
ganized. "  It  seeks  to  convert  the  christened  people  of 
England  to  Socialism.  Its  members  are  committed 
to  the  definite  economic  Socialism  of  accredited  Social- 
ist bodies.  The  League  is  growing  rapidly.  Branches 
are  springing  up  all  over  the  country.  Its  members 
have  addressed  thousands  of  meetings  on  behalf  of 
both  Socialist  and  labor  candidates  at  Parliamentary 
and  principal  elections.  .  .  .  The  members  of  the 
League  are  Socialists.  They  seek  to  establish  a  com- 
monwealth in  which  the  people  shall  own  the  land 
and  industrial  capital  collectively  and  administer  the 
same  collectively."  13 

The  influence  of  the  Church  Socialist  League  and 
the  Fabians  has  spread  to  the  universities,  especially 
to  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  A  number  of  distinguished 
professors  are  active  Socialists. 

The  movement  thus  gained  ground  more  rapidly 
among  the  intellectuals  than  among  the  workingmen. 
It  was  not  until  1893  that  a  Socialist  Labor  Party 
was  organized.  The  Social  Democratic  Federation 
was  too  dogmatic,  hard,  and  bitter  to  draw  the  Eng- 
lish laboring  man ;  the  Fabians  and  the  Church  Social- 
ists were  avowedly  not  partisan.  In  1893  a  group  of 
labor  delegates  met  at  Bradford  and,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Keir  Hardie,  organized  the  Independent  Labor 
Party  (I.  L.  P.).  This  definite  step  had  been  pre- 
ceded by  many  local  political  organizations  among 

ditions  of  life  and  labor  under  which  the  vast  mass  of  our 
population  is  living.  We  have  no  right  to  say  that  these  con- 
ditions are  not  remediable.  Preventable  lack  of  equipment  for 
life  among  young,  and  later  the  insecurity  of  employment  and 
inadequacy  of  remuneration,  and  consequent  destitution  and 
semi-destitution  among  so  many  people,  ought  to  inspire  in  all 
Christians  a  determination  to  reform  our  industrial  system." 
l*  From  Statement  of  Principles  of  the  League. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY    223 

labor  unionists.  The  necessity  for  political  activity  had 
been  felt  in  many  places.  The  Bradford  convention  was 
merely  the  coalescing  of  many  local  movements.  The 
I.  L.  P.  is  a  Socialist  body,  but  it  is  not  dogmatically, 
not  obnoxiously  so.  It  forms,  rather,  a  connecting  link 
between  Socialism  and  labor  unions. 

It  entered  politics  at  once,  but  with  discouraging  re- 
sults. Its  29  candidates  polled  only  63,000  votes;  only 
5  were  elected.  A  closer  alliance  with  the  labor  unions 
was  necessary.  This  was  accomplished  when  the 
unions,  in  1899,  appointed  a  Labor  Representative 
Committee,  whose  duty  it  was,  as  the  name  implies,  to 
increase  labor's  representation  in  Parliament.14  This 
committee  had  first  to  determine  its  relation  to  the 
other  political  parties.  The  Liberals  and  Conservatives 
among  the  laborites  were  outvoted,  and  the  committee 
determined  upon  a  new  course.  Representatives  from 
the  Socialist  bodies — the  I.  L.  P.,  S.  D.  F.,  and  Fabians 
— were  asked  to  join  the  unions  in  an  alliance  that 
should  use  its  united  strength  in  electing  members  to 
Parliament.  All  agreed,  but  the  S.  D.  F.  soon  with- 
drew. 

In  1906  the  name  of  the  committee  was  changed  to 
the  Labor  Party.  It  is  founded  upon  the  broadest 
basis  of  co-operation,  so  that  neither  Socialist,  no  mat- 
ter how  radical,  nor  non-Socialist  should  find  it  impos- 
sible to  work  with  the  party.  Its  constitution  defines 
this  coalition :  "  The  Labor  Party  is  a  federation  con- 
sisting of  Trade  Unions,  Trade  Councils,  Socialist  So- 
cieties, and  Local  Labor  Parties."  "  Co-operative 
Societies  are  also  eligible,"  as  are  "  national  organiza- 

14  Even  at  this  time  the  conservatism  of  the  unions  was  hard 
to  break.  The  vote  to  take  this  step  was  546,000  to  434,000  in 
favor  of  appointing  the  committee. 


224   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  Itt  EUROPE 

tions  of  women  accepting  the  basis  of  this  constitu- 
tion and  the  policy  of  the  party." 

The  object  of  the  party  is  "  to  secure  the  election  of 
candidates  to  Parliament  and  to  organize  and  maintain 
a  Labor  Party  with  its  own  whips  and  policy." 

Party  rigor  is  carefully  prescribed :  "  Candidates  and 
members  must  accept  this  constitution  and  agree  to 
abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  Parliamentary  party  in 
carrying  out  the  aims  of  this  constitution;  appear  be- 
fore their  constituents  under  the  title  of  labor  candi- 
dates; abstain  strictly  from  identifying  themselves  with 
or  promoting  the  interests  of  any  Parliamentary  party 
not  affiliated,  or  its  candidates ;  and  they  must  not  op- 
pose any  candidate  recognized  by  the  national  executive 
of  the  party."  "  Before  a  candidate  can  be  regarded 
as  adopted  for  a  constituency,  his  candidature  must  be 
sanctioned  by  the  national  executive." 

The  party,  thus  centrally  controlled,  is  well  organ- 
ized in  every  part  of  the  kingdom.  It  maintains  a 
fund  for  paying  the  election  expenses  of  its  members.15 
The  Osborne  judgment  has  been  a  serious  setback  to 
the  party,  especially  in  local  elections.  The  payment 
of  members  was  voted  in  1911  by  Parliament  as  a 
partial  remedy,  and  the  government  has  promised  a  re- 
form election  bill  that  will  impose  the  burden  of  all 
necessary  election  expenses  upon  the  state. 

The  party  membership  has  grown  from  375,000  in 
1900  to  nearly  1,500,000  in  1912.  Such  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  party  as  J.  Ramsay  MacDonald,  Keir  Har- 
die,  Philip  Snowden,  and  over  one-half  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary group,  are  Socialists.  The  party  refused  to 

18  Election  expenses  are  borne  by  the  candidates,  not  by  the 
state.  They  frequently  are  over  $3,000,  and  it  obviously  is  im- 
possible for  a  workingman  to  conduct  such  a  campaign  at  his 
own  expense. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     225 


commit  itself  to  Socialistic  principles  until  1907,  when 
it  declared  itself  in  favor  of  the  following  resolution: 
"  The  socialization  of  the  means  of  production,  dis- 
tribution, and  exchange  to  be  controlled  in  a  demo- 
cratic state  in  the  interests  of  the  entire  community, 
and  the  complete  emancipation  of  labor  from  the 
domination  of  capitalism  and  landlordism,  with  the 
establishment  of  social  and  economic  equality  between 
the  sexes."  le 

In  1908  the  party  had  26  members  in  county  coun- 
cils, 262  in  town  councils,  168  in  urban  district  councils, 
27  in  rural  district  councils,  124  in  parish  councils, 
145  on  poor-law  boards,  23  on  school  boards.  There 
are  (1910)  about  1,500  labor  men  and  Socialist  mem- 
bers on  the  various  local  governing  bodies  in  Great 
Britain.17 

19  Proceedings  of  Labor  Party,  Annual  Congress,  1907. 
17  See  Socialists  in  Great  Britain,  a  compilation  published  by 
the  London  Times,  p.  24. 

The  following  table  shows  the  membership  of  the  Labor 
Party  since  its  formation  in  1900,  from  the  annual  report  of 
the  party  executive,  1911: 

Trades  Councils 
and  Local  Labor 

Trade  Unions  Parties  Socialist  Societies 

No.       Membership        No.          No.      Membership          Total 

1900-1  41  353,070  7  3  22,86l  375,931 

IOOI-2  65  455,450  21  2  I3,86l  469,3H 

1902-3         127  847,315  49          2          13,835  861,150 

1903-4  165  956,025  76  2  13,775  969,800 

1904-5    158    885,270     73    2    14,730    900,000 
1005-6    158    904,496     73    2    16,784    921,280 

1006-7  176  975,182  83  2  20,885  998,338' 

1907  181        1,049,673  92         2         22,267        1,072,413* 

1008  176          1,127,035  133  2  27,465  1,158,565' 

1009  172  1,450,648  155  2  30,982  1,486,308* 
1910                137           I,306,473             125             2             31,377  I,342,6l08 

'This  total  includes  3,371  Co-operators.  'Includes  471  Co-operators. 
1  Includes  565  Co-operators,  and  3,500  members  of  the  Women's  Labor 
League.  4  Includes  678  Co-operators,  and  4,000  members  of  the  Women's 
Labor  League.  *  Includes  760  Co-operators,  and  4,000  members  of  the 
Women's  Labor  League. 

The  decrease  in  membership  during  the  last  year  is  ascribed  to 
the  Osborne  judgment. 


226   SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 


We  see,  then,  that  Socialism  and  trades-unionism  in 
England  coalesced.  But  a  more  important  confluence 
of  political  ideals  was  soon  to  occur. 

The  elections  of  1906  indicated  to  the  people  of 
England  that  a  new  force  had  entered  the  domain  of 
political  power,  which  had  so  long  been  assigned  to  the 
gentry  and  men  of  wealth.  A  careful  observer  of 
political  events,  and  a  member  of  Parliament,  described 
the  results  as  follows :  "  When  the  present  House  of 
Commons  (1907)  was  completed  in  January  last,  and 
it  was  discerned  that  50  labor  members  had  been 
elected,  a  cry  of  wonder  went  up  from  press  and 
public.  People  wrote  and  spoke  as  if  these  50  mem- 
bers were  the  forerunners  of  a  political  and  social 
revolution;  as  if  the  old  party  divisions  were  com- 
pletely worn  out,  and  as  if  power  were  about  to  pass 
to  a  new  political  party  that  would  represent  the  masses 
as  opposed  to  the  classes.  These  fears  or  hopes  were 
reflected  in  the  House  of  Commons  itself.  During  the 
early  months  of  the  session  the  Labor  Party  received 
from  all  quarters  of  the  House  an  amount  of  deference 
that  would  have  been  described  as  sycophantic  if  it  had 
been  directed  towards  an  aristocratic  instead  of  to- 
wards a  democratic  group."  18  The  tidal  wave  of 
reaction  following  the  Boer  war  had  swept  the  Liberal 
Party  into  power,  and  had  given  fifty  seats  to  the 
Labor  Party.  The  effect  was  nothing  short  of  revolu- 
tionary. 

Disraeli,  in  his  Sibyl,  spoke  of  "  two  nations," 
two  Englands,  the  England  of  the  gentry  and  the  Eng- 

18  HAROLD  Cox,  Socialism  in  the  House  of  Commons,  p.  i. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     227 

land  of  the  working  classes.  The  elections  since  the 
Boer  war  have  given  this  "  other  England  "  its  chance. 
The  gentry,  the  Whigs  and  Tories,  will  never  again 
fight  their  political  jousts  with  the  "  other  England  " 
looking  contentedly  on.  This  "  mass  mind  of  organ- 
ized labor  "  has  become  the  "  new  controlling  force  in 
progressive  politics."  19 

The  "  transformed  England  "  began  to  see  evidences 
of  the  change.  The  first  bill  brought  in  by  the  Labor 
Party  provided  for  the  feeding  of  school  children, 
from  the  homes  of  the  poor,  out  of  public  funds. 
"  The  business  in  life  of  my  colleagues  and  myself  is  to 
impress  upon  this  House  the  importance  of  the  pov- 
erty problem,"  said  the  spokesman  of  the  Labor  Party 
in  an  important  debate.20 

England  had  awakened  hungry. 

Now  occurred  the  most  significant  political  event  in 
the  history  of  modern  England.  The  Liberal  Party  took 
over  the  immediate  program  of  the  Labor  Party.  This 
is  significant  because  it  swept  England  away  from 
her  industrial  moorings  of  individualistic  laissez-faire, 
and  extended  the  functions  of  the  state  into  activities 
that  had  hitherto  been  left  to  individual  initiative.  A 
complete  revolution  had  taken  place  since  Cobden's 
day.  The  state  acknowledged  new  social  and  economic 
obligations.  In  the  Parliamentary  struggle  that  fol- 
lowed hereditary  prerogative  in  property  was  under- 

19  See  J.  A.  HOBSON,  The  Crisis  of  Liberalism,  for  a  discussion 
of , the  new  party  alignments. 

EMILE  BOUTMY,  philosophical  critic  of  the  English,  says  that 
England,  "transformed  in  all  outward  seeming,  .  .  .  has  just 
begun  a  new  history."  See  his  The  English  People:  A  Study  in 
Their  Political  Psychology,  London,  1904,  for  a  keen  analysis  of 
English  political  proclivities. 

80  Parliamentary  Debates,  5th  series,  vol.  21,  p.  649.  Speech 
by  G.  Lansbury. 


228    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

mined  and  hereditary  prerogative  in  government  vir- 
tually destroyed,  and  the  principles  of  democracy 
enormously  extended.21 

In  England  the  question  of  co-operation  between 
Socialists  and  other  parties  has  been  more  important 
than  in  any  other  European  country:  because  in  a 
democratic  parliament  concessions  are  always  made  to 
large  portions  of  the  electorate  by  the  parties  in  power, 
and  because  the  practical  temperamental  qualities  of 
the  British  discard  the  fine-drawn  distinctions  between 
groups  and  sub-groups  that  are  so  assiduously  main- 
tained in  France  and  Germany. 

In  the  Amsterdam  Congress  of  The  International 
the  question  was  discussed  whether  Socialists  should 
act  with  other  parties.  Jaures  and  his  bloc  were  the 
occasion  of  the  debate.  Kautsky  said  that  in  times  of 
national  crises  like  war  it  might  be  necessary  for  So- 
cialists to  co-operate  with  the  government  to  insure 
national  safety.  No  such  extraordinary  standard  has 
ever  existed  among  practical  Englishmen,  who  usually 
know  what  they  want,  and  are  not  particular  about  the 
means  of  getting  it. 

11  The  new  Liberal  government  invited  John  Burns  into  the 
cabinet.  He  is  the  first  workingman  in  English  history  to  occupy 
a  cabinet  position.  The  more  restless  Socialists  are  inclined  to 
call  him  a  Liberal  because  responsibility  has  taught  him  caution. 
But  he  still  persists  that  he  is  a  Socialist.  He  is  a  Fabian,  and 
boasts  of  the  three  times  that  he  was  imprisoned  for  participat- 
ing in  labor  agitations.  About  twenty  years  before  his  elevation 
he  said  in  the  Old  Bailey,  where  he  had  been  arraigned  for 
"  sedition  and  conspiracy  "  in  conducting  a  strike :  "  I  may  tell 
you,  my  lord,  that  I  went  to  work  in  a  factory  at  the  early  age 
of  ten  years  and  toiled  there  until  five  months  ago,  when  I  left 
my  workshop  to  stand  as  Parliamentary  candidate  for  the 
western  division  of  Nottingham." 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  many  of  the  Conservatives  are 
committed  to  social  legislation.  They  are  not,  however,  in  favor 
of  the  indefinite  expansion  of  democracy,  and  are  opposed  to 
the  adult  suffrage  bill  as  proposed  by  the  Liberals. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     229 

William  Morris,  uncompromising  dogmatist,  in- 
veighed against  the  Whigs  in  1886  as  "the  Harlequins 
of  Reaction."  Democracy  was  his  ideal  of  govern- 
ment, and  he  was  not  entirely  averse  to  political  action 
on  the  part  of  Socialists.  "  To  capture  Parliament, 
and  turn  it  into  a  popular  but  constitutional  assembly, 
is,  I  must  conclude,  the  aspiration  of  the  genuine 
democrats  wherever  they  may  be  found." 

But  he  was  wary  of  compromise.  "  Some  demo- 
crats take  up  actual  pieces  of  Socialism,  the  national- 
ization of  land,  or  of  railways,  or  cumulative  taxation 
of  incomes,  or  limiting  the  right  of  inheritance,  or  new 
patent  laws,  or  the  restriction  by  law  of  the  day's 
labor.  .  .  .  All  this  I  admit  and  say  is  a  hopeful  sign, 
and  yet  once  again  I  say  there  is  a  snare  in  it.  ... 
A  snake  lies  lurking  in  the  grass."  "  Those  who 
think  they  can  deal  with  our  present  system  in  this 
piecemeal  way  very  much  underrate  the  strength  of 
the  tremendous  organization  under  which  we  live, 
and  which  appoints  to  each  of  us  his  place,  and,  if 
we  do  not  choose  to  fit  it,  grinds  us  down  until  we 
do."  zz 

Morris'  advice,  "  Beware  the  Whigs,"  was  uttered 
at  a  time  when  the  leader  of  that  party,  Gladstone, 
was  beginning  to  see  that  the  chief  event  of  the  cen- 
tury would  be  the  merging  of  the  social  question  with 
politics.  The  "  piecemeal  "  method  that  Morris  de- 
cried became  the  actual  method  of  Parliamentary 
activity  as  soon  as  a  new  party,  a  third  party, 
arose  and  drew  its  inspiration  from  the  working 
classes. 

Such  a  party  was  anticipated.    Lord  Rosebery  said 

M  WILLIAM  MORRIS,  Signs  of  Change,  p.  4. 


230    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

in  1894:  "  I  am  certain  there  is  a  party  in  this  coun- 
try, unnamed  as  yet,  that  is  disconnected  with  any 
existing  political  organization — a  party  that  is  inclined 
to  say,  *  A  plague  on  both  your  houses,  a  plague  on 
all  your  politics,  a  plague  on  all  your  unending  dis- 
cussions that  yield  so  little  fruit.'  " 23  And  the  same 
year  John  (now  Lord)  Morley  prophesied:  "Now  I 
dare  say  the  time  may  come,  it  may  come  sooner  than 
some  think,  when  the  Liberal  Party  will  be  trans- 
formed or  superseded  by  some  new  party."  2*  And 
Professor  Dicey,  over  a  decade  ago,  spoke  of  the 
waning  orthodoxy  of  Liberalism  and  its  rapid  merging 
into  Socialism. 

The  "  piecemeal "  party  of  Morris,  the  "  trans- 
formed "  party  of  Morley,  the  radicalized  party  of 
Dicey,  is  the  Liberal  Party  of  to-day.  The  "  un- 
named "  party  of  Rosebery  is  the  Labor  Party,  which 
not  only  says,  "  A  plague  upon  all  your  discussions," 
but,  "  A  plague  upon  all  your  fine-spun  theories  of 
class  war — it's  results  we  want." 

Before  detailing  some  of  the  significant  acts  of  this 
new  democratic  coalition,  it  should  be  added  that  the 
motive  of  the  Liberal  Party  has  not  been  unmixed  with 
politics.  The  Labor  Party  possesses  not  only  the  30  or 
40  votes  in  the  House  of  Commons ;  there  are  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  labor  votes  outside.  This  background 
of  silent,  vigilant  voters  forms  the  greatest  force  of 
the  Labor  Party.  Many  Liberal  members  hold  their 
seats  by  its  favor. 

There  are  in  both  the  great  parties  men  with  strong 
sympathies  for  the  labor  ideal.  In  fact,  a  number  of 
Socialists  are  sitting  with  the  Liberals.  There  is  no 

11  Speech  delivered  in  St.  James'  Hall,  March  21,  1894. 
**  Speech  delivered  at  Newcastle,  May  21,  1894. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     231 

clear  demarcation.  It  is  only  a  difference  of  the  de- 
gree of  infusion. 

The  Labor  Party  has  had  a  strong  influence  upon 
the  House  of  Commons.  For  many  years  the  "  Gov- 
ernment "  has  ruled  quite  arbitrarily.  When  there  are 
only  two  parties  this  is  possible.  But  when  an  influ- 
ential third  party  appears  on  the  scene,  government 
by  the  "  front  benchers  "  must  be  moderated.25 

The  "  cross  benchers  "  have  wrested  a  good  deal  of 
power  from  the  leaders.  This  is  necessary  in  a  democ- 
racy which  is  kept  alive  only  by  contact  with  the  peo- 
ple. There  is  more  government  by  the  Commons,  and 
less  government  by  the  ministry.  This  entente  can 
degenerate  into  Parliamentary  tyranny  if  it  wishes. 
It  can  demand  the  cloture,  as  well  as  open  the  valves 
of  useless  debate.  But  an  arbitrary  act  unsanctioned 
by  the  cross  benchers  would  be  likely  to  bring  destruc- 
tion upon  the  government  that  perpetrated  it. 


VI 

A  review  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  since  the  Lib- 
eral-Labor coalition  and  a  perusal  of  the  debates  are 
convincing  proof  of  the  character  of  the  new  legisla- 
tion and  the  opinions  that  prompt  it.  We  must  confine 
ourselves  to  a  few  types  of  this  legislation,  enough  to 
show  the  actual  changes  now  in  process. 

"  In  the  British  House  of  Commons  the  ministry  and  the 
opposition  leaders  sit  in  the  front  benches  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  House  facing  each  other.  A  "  front  bencher  "  always  com- 
mands a  hearing,  owing  to  his  high  position  in  the  party.  The 
members  of  the  party  sit  behind  their  leaders  and  are  called 
"back  benchers."  The  minor  groups,  the  Labor  Party  and  the 
Irish  Party,  sit  in  the  cross  benches  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
chamber  and  are  called  "  cross  benchers," 


232    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

The  first  bill  introduced  by  the  Labor  Party,  and 
enacted  into  law,  authorized  the  providing  of  meals 
for  poor  children  in  the  schools.  It  does  not  make 
this  compulsory,  but  under  its  sanction  in  1909  over 
$670,000  were  spent  in  providing  over  16,000,000 
meals.  Nearly  half  of  these  were  in  London.26  This 
law  is  especially  assailed  by  the  anti-Socialists.  They 
claim  its  administration  has  been  too  lenient,  not  dis- 
criminating between  the  needy  and  those  capable  of 
self-help.  It  is  only  the  entering  wedge  of  Socialism, 
they  say;  it  is  only  a  step  from  feeding  the  child  to 
clothing  him,  and  from  feeding  and  clothing  the  child 
to  caring  for  the  parent.  They  recall  that  Sidney 
Webb  has  often  said  that  if  the  city  furnishes  water 
free  to  its  citizens  it  should  be  able  to  furnish  milk  as 
well. 

The  second  bill  introduced  by  the  Labor  Party  was 
the  Trades  Dispute  Act.  This  was  framed  to  annul  the 
Taff  Vale  decision,  making  the  unions  immune  from 
suits  for  tortious  acts  and  providing  an  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  arbitrating  labor  disputes.  The  provisions  of 
this  act  were  tested  by  two  railway  crises.  In  1907 
the  railway  employees  threatened  to  go  out  on  strike. 
Lloyd  George,  then  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
averted  the  strike  by  enlisting  all  the  power  of  the 
government  in  persuading  the  companies  and  the  men 
to  agree  to  a  scheme  of  arbitration.  This  was  to  last 
a  stipulated  term  of  years,  but  before  the  time  had 
elapsed  the  men  actually  struck  (1911),  and  for  a 
week  the  country  was  in  a  panic.  Lloyd  George,  then 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  again  used  all  the  power 
of  the  government  to  bring  peace,  and  a  commission 
was  appointed  to  investigate  the  grievances  of  the 

16  See  Annual  Report  Board  of  Education,  1909-1910. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY    233 

men,  who  had  agreed  to  abide  by  its  decision.  In 
this  way  the  government  has  become  the  most 
active  force  in  settling  labor  disputes — a  subject 
that  was  formerly  left  to  the  two  parties  of  the 
labor  contract. 

A  Workman's  Compensation  Act  and  an  Old-Age 
Pension  Act  soon  followed.  The  latter  provides  a 
pension  for  all  workmen  who  are  70  years  old.  Un- 
like the  German  act,  the  government  provides  all  the 
funds.  In  1909  the  Labor  Exchange  Act  empowered 
the  Board  of  Trade  to  establish  labor  exchanges. 
These  have  been  established  in  every  city.  At  first 
there  was  some  friction  with  the  unions  because 
"  blacklegs  "  were  assigned  to  places.  But  since  union 
men  have  been  invited  to  sit  on  the  local  governing 
committees,  things  are  running  smoother. 

There  are  three  laws  which  show  the  trend  of  the 
changing  relation  of  the  state  to  property. 

The  Development  Act  of  1909  provides  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  five  commissioners,  upon  whose  recom- 
mendation the  Treasury  advances  money  to  any  gov- 
ernmental department  or  public  authority  or  university 
or  association  of  persons  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
agriculture  and  rural  industries  of  all  sorts;  the  recla- 
mation of  drainage  lands  and  of  forests;  the  general 
improvement  of  rural  transportation,  including  the 
building  of  "  light  railways  " ;  the  construction  and 
improvement  of  harbors;  the  improvement  of  inland 
navigation,  including  the  building  of  canals;  and  the 
development  and  improvement  of  fisheries.  This  law 
endows  the  government  with  the  necessary  authority 
for  the  absorption  of  virtually  all  the  internal  means  of 
communication  except  the  trunk  railways,  and  extends 
the  paternal  arm  of  the  government  over  agriculture 


234    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

and  the  fisheries  and  subsidiary  industries.27  The  first 
report  of  the  commission,  1910-11,  indicates  that  work 
under  this  law  has  begun  in  earnest.  A  comprehen- 
sive plan  of  regeneration,  embracing  the  entire  king- 
dom and  based  on  adequate  surveys,  is  outlined.  One 
of  the  interesting  features  of  the  plan  is  the  proposal 
to  do  as  much  of  the  work  as  possible  by  direct  labor 
rather  than  by  competitive  bidding.  The  commission 
wants  to  make  sure  "  that  the  funds  shall  not  go  into 
the  pockets  of  private  individuals."  28  Under  an  enthu- 
siastic commission  there  will  be  practically  no  limit  to 
the  influence  of  this  law. 

Two  other  acts  are  closely  allied  with  this  scheme: 
the  Small  Holdings  Act  of  1908,  and  the  Housing  and 
Town  Planning  Act  of  1909.  The  Small  Holdings  Act 
gives  authority  to  county  councils  to  "  provide  small 
holdings  for  persons  who  desire  to  buy  or  lease  and 
will  themselves  cultivate  the  holdings."  This  provision 
is  extended  to  borough,  urban,  district,  and  parish 
councils.  These  authorities  may  purchase  such  lands 
"  whether  situate  within  or  without  their  county." 

The  Town  Planning  Act  gives  cities  and  towns  the 
power  to  purchase  land  and  allot  it,  to  tear  down 
undesirable  buildings,  to  co-operate  with  any  working- 
man's  association  for  improving  and  erecting  dwell- 
ings, and  to  buy  the  necessary  land  for  making  im- 
provements of  all  kinds.  John  Burns,  who  stood 
sponsor  for  this  bill,  explained  that  it  gave  complete 
authority  to  local  governing  bodies  "  to  make  a  city 
healthful  and  a  city  beautiful." 

Following  the  British  habit,  work  has  very  cau- 

17  Keir  Hardie,  the  dean  of  the  Socialist  group  in  Parliament, 
fathered  this  law.  Sidney  Webb,  the  distinguished  Fabian,  was 
made  a  member  of  the  commission. 

28  See  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY  235 

tiously  begun  under  these  acts.  Up  to  December, 
1910,  about  28,000  acres  were  purchased  or  leased 
under  the  allotment  act,  and  sublet  to  100,498  indi- 
vidual tenants.  "  Town  planning  "  has  progressed 
rapidly,  and  the  regeneration  of  the  British  slums,  the 
most  dismal  in  the  world,  may  be  not  far  distant.29 

Under  the  Small  Holdings  Act  there  were,  up  to 
December,  1910,  nearly  31,000  applicants,  asking  for 
over  500,000  acres.  Only  one-fifth  of  this  amount  was 
acquired,  for  7,000  holders.  Thirty  per  cent,  of  the 
applicants  are  agricultural  laborers,  and  the  majority 
of  the  others  are  drawn  from  the  rural  population  who 
have  some  small  business  or  trade  in  the  villages  and 
wish  a  plot  of  land  for  a  garden.  This  "  often  makes 
the  difference  between  a  bare  subsistence  and  compara- 
tive prosperity."  80 

These  laws  show  the  drift  of  the  current.  The 
question  of  the  nationalization  of  railways  has  been 
the  subject  of  Parliamentary  inquiry,  and  the  great 
railway  strike  of  1911  emphasized  the  matter  pro- 
foundly. The  state  in  1911  completed  the  taking 
over  of  all  the  telephone  lines;  it  conducts  an  extensive 
postal  savings  bank  and  a  parcels  post. 

In  local  affairs  some  British  cities  are  models  of 
municipal  enterprise.  Even  London,  that  amorphous 
mass  of  human  misery  and  opulence,  is  changing  its 
aspect.  Since  the  granting  of  municipal  home  rule  it 
has  built  a  vast  system  of  street  railways,  cleaned  out 
acres  of  slums,  opened  breathing  spaces,  built  tene- 
ments, and  in  many  other  ways  displayed  evidences  of 
an  awakening  civic  consciousness. 

Three  other  pieces  of  legislation  must  be  described 

"  See  Annual  Report  Home  Office,  1909-1910. 
•°  Ibid. 


236    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

more  in  detail,  because  they  are  more  revolutionary, 
far-reaching,  and  democratic  than  anything  attempted 
by  the  British  nation  since  the  days  of  the  Reform 
Bill. 

First  is  the  famous  "  Budget "  of  Lloyd  George. 
When  this  virile  Welshman  became  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  he  cast  his  budget  in  the  mold  of  his  social 
theories.  He  said :  "  Personally,  I  look  on  the  Budget 
as  a  part  only  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  fiscal  and 
social  reform:  the  setting  up  of  a  great  insurance 
scheme  for  the  unemployed  and  for  the  sick  and  in- 
firm, and  the  creation,  through  the  development  bill,  of 
the  machinery  for  the  regeneration  of  rural  life."  31 

The  land  system  of  England  is  feudal.  Tenure  still 
legally  exists.  There  still  clings  the  flavor  of  social  and 
political  distinction  to  fee  simple.  This  the  landowners 
have  fortified  against  all  the  changes  that  industrialism 
has  wrought.  There  has  been  no  general  land  ap- 
praisement since  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  the  new  Plym- 
outh. The  "  land  monopoly "  successfully  resisted 
every  attack  until  the  famous  budget  of  1908.  Chiozza 
Money  quotes  John  Bateman's  analysis  of  the  "  New 
Domesday  Book,"  fixing  the  ownership  of  land  in 
England  and  Wales  as  follows : 32 

11  The  money  for  these  things  he  proposed  to  raise  by  taxes, 
and  especially  by  a  tax  on  land  values. 

"  CHIOZZA  MONEY,  Riches  and  Poverty,  p.  82. 
No.  of  Owners  Class  of  Owners  Acres  owned 

400 Peers  and  peeresses  5,729,927 

1,288 Great  landowners   8,497,699 

2,529 Squires l   4,319,271 

9,589 Greater  yeomen 1    4,782,627 

24,412 Lesser  yeomen  1    4,144,272 

217,049 Small  proprietors   3,931,806 

703,289 Cottagers    151,148 

14,459 Public  bodies   1,443,548 

Waste  lands   1,524,624 

973,015  34,524,922 

*  This  classification  is  purely  arbitrary. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY          237 

In  1883,  in  the  United  Kingdom,  there  was  a  total 
area  of  77,000,000  acres;  of  this  40,426,000  acres 
were  owned  by  2,500  persons.  "  While  the  total  in- 
come of  the  nation  is  £1,840,000,000,  the  landowners 
take  £106,000,000  as  land  rent."  33  England  is  a  great 
industrial  and  commercial  nation  living  on  leased 
land. 

The  development  of  the  industrial  towns  has  enor- 
mously multiplied  the  value  of  some  of  these  vast 
estates.84 

The  new  budget  proposed,  first,  to  tax  the  land 
values;  not  a  fictitious  sum,  or  the  value  of  the  land 
with  improvements,  but  the  site  value — the  incre- 
ment value  with  which  the  land  is  endowed  because  of 
its  favorable  location.  Second,  to  this  was  added  a 
10  per  cent,  reversion  duty.  Third,  a  tax  was  levied 
on  undeveloped  land  held  for  speculative  purposes. 
And,  fourth,  a  5  per  cent,  tax  on  mineral  rights  was 
assessed  on  the  owners  of  the  land  that  contained  the 
mines. 

These  proposals  raised  a  storm.  They  aimed  at  the 
traditional  stronghold  of  English  aristocracy.  The 
budget  passed  the  House  of  Commons  by  a  large  ma- 
jority; the  Lords  rejected  it.  The  government 
promptly  prorogued  Parliament  and  went  before  the 
people.  And  what  was  at  first  only  an  attack  upon 
hereditary  rights  in  land  became  an  attack  also  upon 
hereditary  rights  in  politics.  The  House  of  Lords 
became  an  issue  as  well  as  the  budget.  After  a  fiery 

"  Op.  cit,,  p.  91. 

"  The  leaseholder  is  burdened  with  "  rack-rent "  and  "  pre- 
miums " ;  when  the  lease  expires  the  improvements  revert  to 
the  landlord.  There  has  been,  for  years,  a  well-organized 
Single-Tax  movement  in  England  that  points  to  the  evils  of 
this  land  system  as  conclusive  proof  of  the  validity  of  Henry 
George's  theory, 


238    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

and  furious  campaign,  in  which  Socialists  and  Labor- 
ites  joined  Radicals  and  Liberals,  the  budget  won  by 
a  safe  majority.35  The  Lords  passed  the  measure. 
But  this  resistance  cost  them  dear.  One  of  the  first 
prerogatives  established  by  the  House  of  Commons 
was  the  right  to  control  the  purse-strings  of  the  king- 
dom. Custom  has  given  the  sanction  of  constitu- 
tionality to  this  prerogative.  And  the  Lords,  in  first 
denying  and  then  delaying  the  budget,  laid  them- 
selves open  to  the  charge  of  "  hereditary  arrogance  " 
and  "  unconstitutionalism." 

After  the  passage  of  the  budget  there  followed  six 
months  of  conference  between  the  two  front  benches, 
to  find  a  basis  of  reform  for  the  House  of  Lords  upon 
which  all  could  unite.  When  it  became  evident  that 
this  was  impossible,  the  government  again  prorogued 
Parliament  and  went  to  the  people  for  a  mandate  on 
the  question  of  "  reforming  the  Lords."  The  Liberals 
and  their  allies  were,  for  a  third  time,  returned  to 
power,  and  in  February,  1911,  the  Prime  Minister, 
Mr.  Asquith,  introduced  his  "  Parliament  Bill,"  tak- 
ing from  the  House  of  Lords  the  power  to  amend  a 
money  bill  so  as  to  change  its  character.  If  any  other 
bill  passed  by  the  Commons  is  rejected  by  the  Lords, 
the  Commons  can  pass  it  over  their  veto;  and  if  this  is 
done  in  three  consecutive  sessions  of  the  same  Parlia- 
ment— provided  two  years  elapse  between  the  intro- 
duction of  the  bill  and  its  third  rejection  by  the  Lords — 

15  One  of  the  choruses  popular  with  the  great  throngs  that 
paraded  the  streets  in  that  eager  campaign  is  full  of  significance. 
It  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  Marching  through  Georgia." 

"  The  land,  the  land,  'twas  God  who  gave  the  land ; 
The  land,  the  land,  the  ground  on  which  we  stand ; 
Why  should  we  be  beggars,  with  the  ballot  in  our  hand? 
God  gave  the  land  to  the  people." 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY    239 

it  becomes  a  law.  The  law  is  intended  as  a  preliminary 
measure.  The  preamble  states  that  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  government  to  provide  for  a  second  chamber 
"  constituted  on  a  popular  instead  of  hereditary  basis." 
The  bill  was  so  amended  by  the  Lords  as  to  change 
its  character  and  returned  to  the  Commons.  The  Prime 
Minister  then  informed  the  leaders  of  the  opposition 
that  the  King,  "  upon  the  advice  of  his  ministers,"  had 
consented  to  create  enough  peers  to  insure  the  pas- 
sage of  the  bill  in  its  original  form.  Rather  than  have 
their  house  encumbered  by  400  new  peers,  the  Lords 
gave  a  reluctant  consent  to  the  measure  that  virtually 
destroyed  the  bicameral  system  in  England. 

This  profound  constitutional  change,  that  practically 
makes  England  a  representative  democracy  pure  and 
simple,  was  unaccompanied  by  any  of  those  popular 
and  spectacular  demonstrations  one  naturally  expects 
to  see  on  such  occasions.  The  debate  in  both  houses 
rarely  touched  the  pinnacle  of  excitement,  its  fervor 
was  partisan  rather  than  patriotic.36 

In  1832,  when  the  hereditary  peers  stood  in  the  way 
of  the  Reform  Bill,  which  had  passed  the  Commons  by 
only  one  majority,  the  populace  rose  en  masse,  surged 
through  the  streets  of  the  capital,  and  threatened  the 
King  and  his  Iron  Duke, — whose  statue  now  adorns 
every  available  square  in  the  city, — and  made  it 
known  that  their  wishes  must  be  respected.  To-day 
the  people,  secure  in  the  knowledge  of  their  supremacy, 
scarcely  notice  the  efforts  of  the  opposition,  in  its 

**  During  the  debate  on  the  second  reading  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  writer  one  day  counted  twenty  members  on  the 
benches,  and  a  labor  member  called  the  attention  of  the  Speaker 
to  the  fact  that  "  in  this  hour  of  constitutional  crisis  only  twenty 
brave  men  are  found  willing  to  defend  the  prerogatives  of  the 
realm!" 


240    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

attempts  to  bolster  the  falling  walls  of  hereditary  pre- 
rogative in  representative  government.  So  far  has 
England  assumed  the  air  of  democracy. 

The  third  piece  of  legislation,  to  which  allusion  has 
been  made,  indicates  the  direction  that  this  democracy 
is  taking.  It  is  the  Insurance  Bill,  also  introduced  by 
Lloyd  George,  and  passed  in  December,  1911.  It  in- 
sures the  working  population  against  "  sickness  and 
breakdown."  It  is  planned  to  follow  up  the  law  with 
insurance  against  non-employment.  The  law  is  of 
especial  interest  to  Americans,  because  it  adapts  the 
principle  of  the  German  system  to  the  Anglo-Saxon's 
traditional  aversion  to  state  bureaucracy.  It  com- 
mands a  compulsory  contribution  from  employer  and 
employee,  supplemented  by  state  grants.  These  funds 
are  not  administered  by  the  state,  but  by  "  Friendly 
Societies  "  (insurance  orders  organized  by  the  unions) 
and  other  benevolent  organizations  of  workingmen 
now  in  existence.  These  are  democratic,  voluntary  or- 
ganizations. Where  no  such  organizations  exist,  the 
post-office  administers  the  fund. 

The  keynote  of  this  law  is  the  prevention  of  in- 
validity. Its  details  are  largely  based  upon  the  re- 
ports of  the  Royal  Poor  Law  Commissioners,  1905-9. 
The  commission  made  two  voluminous  reports;  Mrs. 
Sidney  Webb,  a  member  of  the  commission,  prepared 
the  minority  report.37 

The  Labor  Party,  in  all  of  these  measures,  voted 
with  the  Liberals.  The  Insurance  Bill  was  denounced 
by  the  most  radical  Laborites  on  the  ground  that 
labor  was  charged  with  contributing  to  the  fund,  and 

*T  Some  of  the  Fabians,  nevertheless,  fought  the  bill,  and 
their  champion,  Bernard  Shaw,  called  Lloyd  George's  effort  "  The 
premature  attempt  of  a  sentimental  amateur." 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     241 

that  the  bill  was  inadequate.    But  the  majority  of  the 
delegation  voted  for  the  measure. 


VII 

Enough  has  now  been  said  to  indicate  the  changes 
in  economic  and  social  legislation  that  are  being 
brought  about  in  England  by  the  coalition  of  Socialists 
and  Liberals.38  The  causes  for  this  change  cannot  be 
laid  to  Socialism  alone.  Socialism  is  an  effect  quite 
as  much  as  a  cause;  it  is  the  result  of  industrial  condi- 
tions, as  well  as  the  prompter  of  changes.  The  per- 
meation of  the  working  classes  with  the  principles  of 
state  aid;  the  spread  of  discontent;  the  lure  of  better 
days;  all  deepened  and  emphasized  by  the  poverty  of 
the  Island,  are  the  sources  of  this  Social  Democratic 
current.  This  has  led,  first,  to  the  unification  of  the 
several  Socialist  groups ;  secondly,  to  the  coalescing  of 
labor  union  and  Socialist  ambitions  into  the  Labor 
Party ;  thirdly,  to  an  effective  co-operation  between  the 
Labor  Party  and  the  Liberal-Radicals. 

18  In  1909  the  Labor  Party  claimed  credit  for  the  following 
measures  passed  during  the  Parliamentary  session  of  that  year: 

"  (i)  The  grant  of  an  additional  £200,000  ($1,000,000)  for 
the  unemployed,  and  the  extraction  of  a  promise  that,  if  it  was 
insufficient,  '  more  would  be  forthcoming.' 

"  (2)  The  passing  of  the  Trades  Boards  Bill— the  first  ef- 
fective step  against  '  sweating.' 

"  (3)  The  smashing  of  the  bill  authorizing  the  amalgamation 
of  three  great  railways. 

"  (4)  A  discussion,  protest,  and  vote  against  the  visit  of 
Bloody  Nicholas,  the  Tsar.  The  Labor  Party's  amendments 
secured  79  supporters,  whilst  only  187  members  of  the  British 
Parliament  were  dirty  enough  to  support  the  Tsar's  visit. 

"  (5)  The  introduction  of  the  Shop  Hours  Bill  and  the  ex- 
tortion of  a  promise  that  it  shall  be  adopted  by  the  government 
and  passed." — From  a  campaign  pamphlet,  The  Labor  Party  in 
Parliament,  p.  20. 


242    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Sagacious  Socialists  saw  this  trend  long  ago.  In 
1888  Sidney  Webb  appealed  to  the  Liberals  to  espouse 
the  cause  of  labor.  He  pointed  out  the  inevitable, 
and  it  has  happened.39 

Two  questions  naturally  arise:  First,  how  far  will 
this  movement  toward  Social  Democracy  go  ?  Second, 
how  long  will  the  Labor  Party  hold  together  and 
prompt  the  action  of  the  Liberals  and  Radicals  in 
social  legislation? 

The  first  question  is  not  merely  conjectural.  The 
Reform  Bill  now  (1912)  prepared  by  the  government 
will  destroy  the  last  vestige  of  property  qualifications 
for  voting.  It  will  destroy  plural  voting,  which  now 
allows  a  freeholder  to  vote  in  every  district  where  he 
holds  land.  In  some  districts  the  absentee  voters  hold 
the  balance  of  power.40  Votes  for  women  are  also 
promised.  This  increased  electorate  will  not  be  con- 
servative in  its  convictions.  Along  with  this  will  come 
the  abolishing  of  the  custom  that  compels  candidates  to 
bear  the  election  expenses;  the  payment  of  members 
of  Parliament  has  already  begun;  the  lure  of  office  is 
no  longer  a  will-o'-the-wisp  to  the  poor  with  ambi- 
tion. 

The  new  Liberalism  is,  then,  devoted  first  of  all  to 
real  democracy,  in  which  the  King's  prerogatives 
retain  their  sickly  place.  As  to  the  functions  of  the 
state,  it  will  "  probably  retain  its  distinction  from  So- 
cialism in  taking  for  its  chief  test  of  policy  the  freedom 
of  the  individual  citizen  rather  than  the  strength  of 
the  state,  though  the  antagonism  of  the  two  standpoints 

"  See  Wanted — A  Program:  An  Appeal  to  the  Liberal  Party. 
S.  WEBB,  London,  1888. 

*°  See  article  by  PROFESSOR  HOBHOUSE,  on  "  Democracy  in  Eng- 
land," Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1912. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     243 

may  tend  to  disappear  in  the  light  of  progressive  ex- 
perience." 41 

As  to  property,  it  will  probably  continue  to  make 
unearned  increments  and  incomes  bear  the  burden  of 
social  reform;  create  a  business  democracy  for  run- 
ning the  public  utilities,  leaving  more  or  less  unham- 
pered the  fields  of  legitimate  industrial  opportunity. 
"  Property  is  not  an  absolute  right  of  the  individual 
owner  which  the  state  is  bound  to  maintain  at  his  be- 
hest. On  the  contrary,  the  state  on  its  side  is  justi- 
fied in  examining  the  rights  which  he  may  claim,  and 
criticising  them;  seeing  it  is  by  the  force  of  the  state 
and  at  its  expense  that  all  such  rights  are  main- 
tained." 42  This,  the  well-considered  opinion  of  a 
well-known  scholar,  may  be  properly  taken  as  the 
gauge  of  present-day  English  Radical  sentiment  on 
the  inviolability  of  property  rights. 

As  to  the  second  question :  How  long  will  the  coali- 
tion hang  together?  the  Socialists  are  now  (1912) 
showing  signs  of  restiveness.  The  old  question,  that 
has  rent  all  Socialists  in  all  countries,  and  always  will, 
because  Socialism  is  a  wide-spreading  and  vague  gen- 
eralization, has  arisen  among  these  practical  Eng- 
lishmen. In  the  convention  of  the  I.  L.  P.,  1910,  there 
was  a  prolonged  discussion  on  the  policy  of  the  party 
in  its  relation  to  other  parties.  "  The  Labor  Party 
should  stand  for  labor,  not  for  Liberalism,"  was  the 
complaint.  Keir  Hardie  suggested  that  they  were  not 
in  Parliament  to  keep  governments  in  office  or  to  turn 
them  out,  but  "  to  organize  the  working  classes  into 
a  great  independent  political  power,  to  fight  for  the 

41  J.  A.  HOBSON,  The  Crisis  of  Liberalism,  p.  93. 

42  L.  T.  HOBHOUSE,  Democracy  and  Reaction,  p.  230. 


244    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

coming  of  Socialism."  43  A  resolution  objecting  to 
members  of  the  party  "  appearing  on  platforms  along- 
side Liberal  and  Tory  capitalists  and  landlords,"  was 
defeated  by  a  large  majority.44 

In  the  House  of  Commons  clashes  are  not  infre- 
quent between  the  Laborites  and  the  Liberals.  An- 
nually the  labor  members  move  an  amendment  to  the 
Address  of  the  Crown,  asking  for  a  bill  "  to  establish 
the  right  to  work  by  placing  upon  the  state  the  re- 
sponsibility of  directly  providing  employment  or  main- 
tenance for  the  genuinely  unemployed."  45  John  Burns 
opposed  their  amendment  in  1911,  in  a  brilliant  and 
vehement  speech,  not  so  much  because  the  government 
was  opposed  to  the  principle,  but  for  the  political  rea- 
son that  the  government  was  not  ready  to  bring  in  a 
bill  of  its  own,  which  should  be  a  part  of  its  compre- 
hensive system  of  social  reform.46 

The  great  strike  of  transportation  workers,  in  the 
summer  of  191 1,  widened  the  breach  between  Laborites 
and  Liberals,  and  between  the  extreme  and  moderate 
Socialists.  This  strike  spread  from  the  dockers  of 

41  See  "  Report  Eighteenth  Annual  Conference,  I.  L.  P.,"  1910, 

P-  59- 

44  Supra  cit.,  p.  71. 

Some  of  the  I.  L.  P.  members  are  Continental  in  their  views. 
The  president  of  the  party  used  these  words  in  his  address, 
1910:  "All  this  jiggery-pokery  of  party  government  played  like 
a  game  for  ascendency  and  power  is  no  use  to  us  "  (supra  cit., 
P-  35)-  The  discipline  of  the  Labor  Party  was  unable  to  keep 
half  a  dozen  of  its  ablest  debaters  from  fighting  the  Insurance 
Bill.  The  reversion  of  the  radical  Socialist  element  to  the 
I.  L.  P.  is  by  some  observers  considered  not  unlikely.  Then  the 
liberal  or  refortniste  element  will  become  either  a  faction  of  the 
Liberal-Radical  party  or  melt  entirely  away  as  the  Chartists  did 
in  1844. 

"  This  was  the  language  used  in  the  amendment  moved  in 
January,  1911. 

4*  See  Parliamentary  Debates,  5th  series,  vol.  21,  February  10, 
1911. 


245 

Liverpool  to  London,  from  the  dockers  to  the  railway 
workers,  and  then  to  the  teamsters  and  drivers  of  the 
larger  cities,  until  a  general  tie-up  of  transportation 
was  threatened.  It  came  very  near  being  a  model  gen- 
eral strike.  Its  violence  was  met  with  a  call  for 
the  troops.  The  labor  members  in  Parliament  pro- 
tested earnestly  against  the  use  of  soldiers.  But  the 
government  was  prompt  and  firm  in  its  suppression  of 
disorder.  A  bitter  debate  took  place  between  the 
government  and  the  labor  leaders.47 

How  much  of  this  give  and  take  must  be  attributed 
to  the  play  of  politics,  it  is  impossible  to  declare.  But 
this  great  strike  clearly  revealed  the  difference  between 
violent  Socialism  and  moderate  radicalism.  The  one  is 
willing  to  effect  revolutions  through  law  and  order, 
the  other  to  effect  them  through  violence  and  disrup- 
tion. 

The  moderate  Socialists  seem  willing  to  take  a  mid- 
dle course  between  these  extremes.  The  following 
quotation  from  a  speech  delivered  by  Ramsay  Mac- 
Donald,  leader  of  the  Labor  Party,  at  a  convention  of 
the  I.  L.  P.,  clearly  illustrates  the  moderate  view : 

"  We  can  cut  off  kings'  heads  after  a  few  battles,  we 
can  change  a  monarchy  into  a  republic,  we  can  deprive 

"  The  Socialist  workmen  always  resent  the  activity  of  the 
police  and  soldiers  during  strikes.  In  1888  F.  Engels  wrote  to 
an  American  friend :  "  The  police  brutalities  in  Trafalgar  Square 
have  done  wonders  in  helping  to  widen  the  gap  between  the 
workingmen  Radicals  and  the  middle-class  Liberals  and  Rad- 
icals." (See  Brief  e  und  Auszuge  aus  Brief  en  -von  Fr.  Engels 
u.  A.,  Stuttgart,  1906.) 

One  of  the  incidents  of  the  debate  over  the  railway  strike 
in  the  House  of  Commons  was  a  clash  between  Lloyd  George, 
the  Liberal  leader,  and  Keir  Hardie,  the  Socialist.  Keir  Hardie 
had  made  inflammatory  speeches  to  striking  workmen,  and  for 
this  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  gave  him  a  terrific  and 
unmerciful  flaying.  (See  Parliamentary  Debates,  5th  series,  vol. 
29,  Aug.  22,  1911.) 


246    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

people  of  their  titles,  and  we  can  make  similar  super- 
ficial alterations  by  force ;  but  nobody  who  understands 
the  power  of  habit  and  of  custom  in  human  conduct, 
who  appreciates  the  fact  that  by  far  and  away  the 
greater  amount  of  an  action  is  begun,  controlled,  and 
specified  by  the  system  of  social  interrelationship  in 
which  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being;  and  still 
more,  nobody  who  understands  the  delicate  and  intri- 
cate complexity  of  production  and  exchange  which 
keeps  modern  society  going,  will  dream  for  a  single 
moment  of  changing  it  by  any  act  of  violence.  As  soon 
as  that  act  is  committed,  every  vital  force  in  society 
will  tend  to  re-establish  the  relationship  which  we  have 
been  trying  to  end,  and  what  is  more,  these  vital  forces 
will  conquer  us  in  the  form  of  a  violent  reaction,  a 
counter  revolution.  When  we  cut  off  a  newt's  tail,  a 
newt's  tail  will  grow  on  again. 

"  I  want  the  "  I.  L.  P.'s  action  "  to  be  determined  by 
our  numbers,  our  relative  strength,  the  state  of  public 
opinion,  the  character  of  the  question  before  the  coun- 
try. I  appeal  to  it  that  it  take  into  account  all  the  facts 
and  circumstances,  and  not,  for  the  sake  of  satisfying 
its  soul  and  sentiment,  go  gaily  on,  listening  to  the 
enunciation  of  policies  and  cheering  phrases  which  ob- 
viously do  not  take  into  account  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  at  the  same  time  most  difficult  problems 
which  representation  in  Parliament  presents  to  it."  48 
In  another  place  MacDonald  has  detailed  the  steps  in 
the  progress  of  Parliamentary  Socialism.  He  begins 
with  "  palliatives,"  such  as  factory  inspection,  old-age 
pensions,  feeding  of  school  children;  next,  the  state 
engages  in  constructive  legislation,  "  municipalization 

41 J.   RAMSAY   MACDONALD:   speech   delivered   at  Edinburgh, 
1909. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     247 

and  nationalization  in  every  shape  and  form,  from  milk 
supplies  to  telephones,"  and  finally  insists  on  the  tax- 
ing of  unearned  increment  and  a  general  redistribution 
of  the  burdens  of  the  state.*9  • 

Not  all  the  members  of  the  I.  L.  P.  are  agreed  upon 
this  moderate  statement.  Keir  Hardie  and  his  immedi- 
ate followers  still  cling  to  the  "  larger  hope  "  of  a 
socialized  society,  to  which  commonplace  legislation  is 
only  a  crude  preliminary. 

Bernard  Shaw  has  confessed  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
new  Social  Democracy.  "  Nobody  now  considers  So- 
cialism as  a  destructive  insurrection  ending,  if  suc- 
cessful, in  millennial  absurdities,"  and  of  the  budget 
he  said :  "  If  not  a  surrender  of  the  capitalist  citadel, 
it  is  at  all  events  letting  down  the  drawbridge."  50  The 
public  utterances  of  the  Radical  leaders  are  often 
less  restrained  than  those  of  the  Socialists,51  so  that 
it  becomes  increasingly  difficult  to  tell  the  difference. 

Professor  Hobhouse,  in  his  analysis  of  the  differ- 
ence between  Liberal-Radicalism  and  Socialism,  says: 
"  I  venture  to  conclude  that  the  differences  between  a 
true  and  consistent  public-spirited  liberalism  and  a 
rational  collectivism,  ought,  with  a  genuine  effort  at 
mutual  understanding,  to  disappear.  The  two  parties 
are  called  on  to  make  common  cause  against  the  grow- 
ing power  of  wealth,  which,  by  its  control  of  the  press 
and  of  the  means  of  political  organization,  is  more 
and  more  a  menace  to  the  healthy  working  of  popu- 
lar government."  52 

And  Brougham  Villiers  stated,  a  year  before  the 

4*  See  J.  RAMSAY  MACDONALD,   The  Socialist  Movement,  pp. 

150-7- 

80  G.  B.  SHAW,  Preface  to  "Fabian  Tracts." 

41  See  LLOYD  GEORGE'S  famous  "  Limehouse  Speech." 

81  L.  T.  HOBHOUSE,  Democracy  and  Reaction,  p.  237. 


248    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

Liberals  gained  control  of  the  government,  that  the 
hope  of  the  country  lay  in  an  "  alliance,  won  by 
persistent,  intelligent  helpfulness  on  the  part  of  the 
Liberals,  with  the  alienated  artisans,  for  the  better- 
ment of  the  conditions  of  the  poorest,  so  as  to 
give  at  once  hope  and  life  and  better  leisure  for 
thought."  53 

So  we  see  Socialism  and  Liberalism  united  in  ac- 
complishing changes  in  legislation  and  ancient  insti- 
tutions— changes  that  are  revolutionary  in  character 
and  will  be  far-reaching  in  results.  It  is  not  the  red 
revolutionary  Socialism  of  Marx;  it  is  the  practical 
British  Socialism  of  amelioration.  "  This  practical, 
constitutional,  evolutionary  Socialism,"  a  chronicler  of 
the  Fabians  calls  it.64  It  would  have  to  be  practical 
to  appeal  to  the  British  voter,  constitutional  to  lure  the 
British  statesman,  and  evolutionary  to  satisfy  the 
British  philosopher. 

In  the  troublous  days  of  1888-90  there  were  a  great 
many  young  Socialists  who  believed  the  social  revo- 
lution was  waiting  around  the  next  corner  and  would 
soon  sweep  over  London  in  gory  reality.  Many  of 
these  young  men  are  sober  Fabians  now,  or  staid  Con- 
servatives or  Liberals.  To-day  they  think  they  were 
mistaken.  They  were  not.  There  was  a  revolution 
around  the  next  corner.  It  has  already  captured 
the  high  places.  Society,  government,  is  rapidly  en- 
croaching upon  private  property  through  the  powers 
of  taxation,  of  police  supervision,  and  all  manner  of 
constitutional  instrumentalities.  Ownership,  even  in 
land,  is  now  only  an  incident,  the  rights  of  the  com- 

Bt  BROUGHAM  VILLIERS,  The  Opportunity  of  Liberalism, 
Preface. 

54  See  article  by  Secretary  PEASE,  of  the  Fabians,  on  the 

Fabian  Society,  T.  P.'s  Magazine,  February,  1911. 


THE  ENGLISH  LABOR  PARTY     249 

munity  are  in  the  ascendant.  Democracy  has  con- 
quered hereditary  privilege.  And  the  revolution  is 
still  advancing.  England  is  showing  the  world  that 
"  The  way  to  make  Socialism  safe  is  to  make  democ- 
racy real."  55 

56  J.  A.  HOBSON,  The  Crisis  of  Liberalism,  p.  156. 


CHAPTER  X 
CONCLUSION 

WE  have  now  concluded  our  survey  of  the  political 
activities  of  Socialism  in  the  four  countries  that  pre- 
sent the  most  characteristic  features  of  this  move- 
ment of  the  working  classes.  It  is  peculiarly  difficult 
to  draw  general  conclusions  from  the  study  of  a  move- 
ment so  protean.  Democracy  is  young;  Socialism  is 
in  its  early  infancy. 

Is  there  a  rational  trend  in  Socialism  ?  Or  is  it  only 
a  passing  whim  of  the  masses?  Is  it  a  crude  theory, 
an  earnest  protest,  a  powerful  propaganda?  Or  is  it 
a  current  of  human  conviction  so  strong,  so  deep- 
flowing  that  it  will  be  resistless? 

It  is  futile  to  deny  the  power  of  the  Socialist  move- 
ment. The  greatest  proof  of  its  virility  is  its  ability 
to  break  away  from  Marxian  dogma  and  from  the 
fantasies  of  the  utopists,  and  acknowledge  mundane 
ways  and  means.  In  spite  of  this  earthiness,  it  still  has 
its  fanciful  abstractions.  Some  of  its  prophets  are 
still  glibly  proclaiming  a  new  order, — as  if  society 
were  artificial,  like  a  house,  and  could  be  torn  down 
piecemeal  or  by  dynamite,  and  then  rebuilt  to  suit  the 
vagaries  of  a  new  owner. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  portion  of  the  Socialists  are 
learning  that  society  is  a  living  thing  that  can  be  shaped 
only  by  training,  like  the  mind  of  a  child.  Social- 
ism, as  a  whole,  is  metamorphosing.  Some  of  its 
vicious  eccentricities,  like  the  ravings  against  religion 

250 


CONCLUSION  251 

and  the  espousal  of  free  love,  have  already  vanished. 
It  is  learning  that  institutions  are  the  product  of  ages, 
not  of  movements,  and  cannot  be  changed  at  the  fancy 
of  every  new  and  disgruntled  social  prophet. 

The  best  school  for  Socialism  has  been  the  school 
of  parliamentary  activity.  Here  the  hot-blooded  pro- 
testers become  sober  artisans  of  statecraft.  We  have 
seen  how  the  early  Utopian  ideas,  with  their  edenesque 
theory  of  the  guilelessness  of  man,  were  abruptly  ex- 
changed for  the  theory  of  violence,  based  on  the 
materialistic  conception  of  the  universe  and  of  man. 
Neither  the  soft  humanities  of  the  utopists  nor  the 
blood  and  thunder  of  revolution  overturned  the  exist- 
ing state.  But  when  the  workingmen  appeared  in 
parliaments,  then  things  began  to  change. 

In  every  country  where  the  Socialists  have  entered 
parliament,  they  appeared  suddenly,  in  considerable 
numbers.  So  in  France,  Germany,  England,  Belgium, 
Austria.  And  they  always  produced  a  flutter,  often  a 
scare,  among  the  conservatives.  They  were  an  untried 
force.  Their  preachings  of  violence  and  their  an- 
tagonism to  property  made  them  an  unknown  quan- 
tity, to  be  feared,  and  not  to  be  lightly  handled — a 
bomb  of  political  dynamite  that  might  explode  any 
moment  and  scatter  the  product  of  ages  into  frag- 
ments ! 

But  no  explosion  came.  And  one  more  example 
of  the  persistence  of  human  nature  was  added  to  the 
long  annals  of  history. 

In  every  country  the  parliamentary  experience  has 
been  the  same :  the  liberal  and  radical  element,  at- 
tracted by  the  legislative  demands  of  the  labor  party, 
coalesced,  for  specific  issues,  with  the  Socialists,  and 
a  new  era  of  economic  and  social  legislation  was 


252    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

ushered  in.  Even  in  Germany,  with  its  unmodern 
conditions  in  government,  all  the  powers  of  feudal 
autocracy  failed  to  crush  the  rising  forces  of  the  new 
political  consciousness. 

In  France  and  England  we  have  seen  Socialists  take 
their  places  in  the  cabinet,  to  the  chagrin  of  that 
portion  of  the  Socialists  who  still  regard  social  classes 
as  natural  enemies,  and  consider  social  co-operation 
among  all  the  elements  of  society  impossible. 

In  brief,  Socialism  has  entered  politics  and  has  be- 
come mundane.  You  need  a  microscope  to  tell  a 
Socialist  from  a  Socialist-Radical  in  France,  and  a 
Laborite  from  a  Radical-Liberal  in  England.  Briand 
and  Millerand  may  be  voted  out  of  the  Socialist 
Party,  and  John  Burns  may  be  spurned  by  the  I.  L.  P. 
But  these  men  are  teaching  a  double  lesson :  first,  that 
there  are  no  new  ways  to  human  betterment;  second, 
that  the  old  way  is  worth  traveling,  because  it  does 
lead  to  happier  and  easier  conditions  of  toil.  Socialists 
the  world  over  will  soon  be  compelled  to  realize  that 
the  political  force  which  shrinks  from  the  responsibility 
of  daily  political  drudgery  will  never  be  a  permanent 
factor  in  life.  A  political  party  that  is  afraid  to 
assume  the  obligations  of  government  for  fear 
that  it  will  lose  its  ideal,  is  too  fragile  for  this 
world. 

The  Socialist  Party  wherever  it  exists  is  a  labor 
party,  with  a  labor  program  that  is  based  on  condi- 
tions which  need  to  be  remedied.  Their  practical 
demands  as  a  rule  are  of  such  a  nature  that  all  of 
society  would  benefit  by  their  enactment  into  law. 
The  mystery  has  all  gone  out  of  the  movement.  It  is 
not  necromancy,  it  is  plain  parliamentary  humdrum 
which  you  see.  The  threatened  witchery  is  all 


CONCLUSION  253 

words;  the  doing  is  intensely  human,  of  the  earth 
earthy. 

The  Socialist  movement  tends  toward  the  latest 
phase  of  democracy,  which  is  social  democracy;  the 
democracy  that  has  ceased  to  toy  with  Liberty,  Equal- 
ity, and  Fraternity,  and  the  other  tinsel  abstractions 
of  the  bourgeois  revolutions;  the  democracy  that  sees 
poverty  and  suffering  increase  as  wealth  and  ease  in- 
crease. It  is  the  democracy  of  the  human  heart,  that 
cares  for  the  babe  in  the  slums,  the  lad  in  the  factory, 
the  mother  at  the  cradle,  and  the  father  in  his  old 
age.  Against  all  these  helpless  ones  society  has  sinned. 
And  it  is  to  a  universal,  sincere,  social  penance  that 
the  new  democracy  calls  the  rich,  the  powerful,  and  the 
comfortable. 

Socialism  is  merging  rapidly  into  this  new  democ- 
racy. In  doing  so  it  is  abandoning  its  two  great  illu- 
sions. The  first  illusion  is  that  the  interests  of  the 
worker  are  somehow  different  from  the  interests  of 
the  rest  of  the  community.  Class  war  has  been  a 
resonant  battle-cry,  and  has  served  its  purpose.  It  is 
folly  for  any  class  to  magnify  its  needs  above  those 
of  the  rest  of  society.  Civilization  and  culture  em- 
brace the  artisan  and  the  artist,  the  poor  and  the 
powerful.  Any  class  interest  that  clashes  with  the 
welfare  of  society  as  a  whole  cannot  survive.  Social- 
ism is  abandoning  the  tyranny  of  class  war,  is  being 
mellowed  by  class  co-operation.  Socialists  are  now 
claiming  that  their  interests  are  the  interests  of  society. 
The  social  complexion  of  the  party  in  the  countries  of 
its  greatest  advancement  is  an  indication  of  this. 
Many  of  the  party  leaders  are  of  middle-class  origin. 
Some  of  them  are  rich.  You  call  at  their  homes  and 
servants  open  the  door  and  receive  your  card  on  a 


254    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

silver  tray.  Multitudes  of  lawyers,  physicians,  jour- 
nalists, and  professors  are  in  the  movement.  Dr. 
Frank  of  Mannheim,  the  leader  of  the  Badensian  So- 
cialists, said  to  me  that  the  degree  to  which  Socialism 
can  gain  the  support  of  the  intellectual  element  is  the 
measure  of  success  of  the  movement.  All  this  indi- 
cates that  Socialism  is  breaking  the  bonds  of  self- 
limited  class  egoism.  The  peasant  landowner,  the 
small  shopkeeper,  the  intellectualist,  and  occasionally  a 
man  or  two  of  wealth  and  high  social  position  are 
being  drawn  into  this  new  democracy. 

The  question  is  now  being  seriously  asked:  Can 
there  be  a  social  co-operation  ?  Must  there  always  be 
industrial  war?  Von  Vollmar,  Millerand,  Vander- 
velde,  MacDonald  proclaim  the  possibility  of  rational 
co-operation.  MacDonald  says :  "  The  defense  for 
democracy  which  is  far  and  away  the  weightiest  is 
that  progress  must  spring,  not  from  the  generosity  or 
enlightenment  of  a  class,  but  from  the  common  intelli- 
gence." "  It  must  be  pointed  out  that  the  labor  legis- 
lation now  being  asked  for  is  very  much  more  than  a 
sequel  to  that  passed  under  the  influence  of  Lord 
Shaftesbury.  This  differs  from  that  as  the  working 
of  the  moral  conscience  differs  from  the  motives  of 
the  first  brute  man  who  shaped  his  conduct  under  a 
contract  of  mutual  defense  with  a  friendly  neighbor. 
To  use  the  arm  of  the  law  to  abolish  crying  evils,  to 
put  an  end  to  an  ever-present  injustice,  is  one  thing; 
to  use  that  arm  to  promote  justice  and  to  keep  open 
the  road  to  moral  advancement,  to  bring  down  from 
their  throne  in  the  ideal  into  a  place  in  the  world  cer- 
tain conceptions  of  distributive  justice,  is  quite  another 
thing.  And  yet  this  latter  is  now  being  attempted,  and 
wa§  certain  to  be  attempted  as  soon  as  democracy  came 


CONCLUSION  255 

into  power.  When  society  is  enfranchised,  the  social 
question  becomes  the  political  question."  1 

"  The  state  is  not  the  interest  of  a  class,  but  the  organ 
of  society."  2  There  can  be  no  broader  foundation  for 
political  action  than  this.  All  progress  springs  from 
the  "  common  intelligence  "  to  which  every  one  con- 
tributes his  quota. 

The  second  great  illusion  of  Socialism  is  the  social 
revolution.  No  one  except  a  few  extremists  any  longer 
thinks  of  the  revolution  by  blood.  Engels,  the  friend 
of  Marx,  shows  that  everywhere  violence  is  giving 
way  to  political  methods.  "  Even  in  the  Romance 
countries  we  see  the  old  tactics  revised.  Everywhere 
the  German  example  of  using  the  ballots  is  being  fol- 
lowed. Even  in  France  the  Socialists  see  more  and 
more  that  no  lasting  victory  is  to  be  theirs  unless  they 
win  beforehand  the  great  masses  of  the  people.  The 
slow  work  of  propaganda  and  parliamentary  activity 
is  here  also  recognized  as  the  next  step  in  party  de- 
velopment." 3  Engels  shows  how  Socialists  have 
entered  the  parliaments  of  Belgium,  Italy,  Denmark, 
Bulgaria,  Roumania,  as  well  as  the  parliaments  of  the 
great  powers.  And  he  indicates  that  the  revolution  of 
the  Socialist  must  come  as  a  revolution  by  majorities — 
which  is  democracy. 

Engels  still  believed  that  violence  would  follow 
the  accession  of  democratic  power.  If  he  had  lived 
another  decade  he  would  have  discarded  this  last  rem- 
nant of  the  theory  of  violence.  In  Germany  the 
bourgeois  are  more  frightened  over  the  legal  than  over 

1  J.  RAMSAY  MACDONALD,  Ethical  Democracy,  pp.  61-71. 

*  J.  RAMSAY  MACDONALD,  Socialism  and  Government,  Vol.  II, 
p.  117. 

'  FREDERICK  ENGELS'  Introduction  to  MARX'  Classenkampf, 
pp.  16-17,  1895. 


256    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

the  illegal  acts  of  the  Socialist.  They  fear  the  results 
of  elections  more  than  rebellion.  Violence  they  can 
suppress  with  a  bayonet,  but  laws — they  must  be 
obeyed. 

This  is  true  in  every  country.  The  power  of  the 
ballot  is  infinitely  greater  than  the  power  of  the  bullet, 
provided  it  is  followed  up  with  common  sense  and 
energy. 

The  theory  of  violence,  then,  has  almost  disap- 
peared. The  Syndicalist,  in  his  reversion  to  anarchy, 
attempts  to  revive  the  forsaken  theory.  He  does  this 
by  a  general  strike.  But  the  general  strike  is  not  to  be 
confused  with  the  social  revolution.  The  general 
strike,  wherever  it  has  been  tried  as  an  economic 
forcing  valve,  has  failed.  But  whenever  it  has  been 
used  as  a  political  uprising,  demanding  political  rights, 
it  has  been  more  or  less  successful.  In  Belgium  we 
have  seen  how  it  brought  results.  In  Sweden  a  few 
years  ago  there  was  a  general  strike  that  not  only  shut 
every  factory,  but  stopped  the  street  cars  and  all  trans- 
portation lines,  closed  the  gas-works,  and  even  the 
newspapers  were  suspended.  It  was  a  powerful  politi- 
cal protest,  but  the  number  of  striking  workmen  did 
not  equal  the  non-strikers. 

In  Italy  in  1904  a  general  strike  was  called  to  pro- 
test against  the  arbitrary  attitude  of  the  government 
toward  the  labor  movement.  In  some  of  the  cities  all 
work  ceased,  even  the  gondoliers  of  Venice  joined  the 
strikers.  In  Russia  in  1904-5  the  transportation  lines 
and  post  and  telegraph  lines  were  tied  up  while  the 
workingmen  demonstrated  for  their  political  liberty. 

The  violence  of  Socialism  to-day  is  political ;  the  vio- 
lence of  trade  unionism  is  economic.  As  the  demo- 
cratic consciousness  spreads,  there  may  be  such  a  co- 


CONCLUSION  257 

alescing  of  interests  that  violence  will  cease.  But  a 
human  society  without  warfare  and  contention  is  still  a 
tax  upon  the  imagination.  Strikes  are  increasing  in 
number  and  bitterness  and  all  the  arbitrations  and 
devices  of  democracies  seem  helpless  in  the  turmoil  of 
economic  strife. 

I  am  not  unmindful  that  behind  all  this  parlia- 
mentary activity  there  is  the  dim  background  of  hope 
in  the  hearts  of  many  Socialists  that  somehow  the 
wage  system  will  vanish,  that  competition  will  cease, 
that  the  primary  activities  of  production  and  dis- 
tribution will  be  assumed  by  society,  and  that  economic 
extremes  will  become  impossible.  In  a  people  of  fitful 
temper  and  ebullient  spirit  the  doctrine  of  overturning 
remains  a  constant  menace.  Socialism  in  Spain  and 
Italy  wears  a  scarlet  coat,  in  Germany  a  drab,  and 
in  England  a  black.  The  danger  to  civilization  lurks, 
not  in  the  survival  of  the  doctrines  of  the  older  So- 
cialism, but  in  the  temper  of  the  people  who  espouse 
them. 

The  Socialist  movement  has  accomplished  three  not- 
able things.  First,  it  has  spread  democracy.  The 
bourgeois  revolutions  established  democracy;  Social- 
ism extends  it.  We  have  seen  how  in  Belgium  it 
compelled  the  governing  powers  to  give  labor  the  bal- 
lot; how  in  Germany,  hard  set  and  dogmatic,  it  is 
shaping  events  that  will  surely  lead  to  ministerial  re- 
sponsibility and  to  universal  suffrage ;  and  how  in  Eng- 
land it  is  resulting  in  universal  manhood  suffrage  and 
probably  "  votes  for  women."  Socialism  is  spread- 
ing the  obligations  of  government  upon  all  shoulders. 
It  is  not,  however,  democratizing  the  machinery  of 
administration.  In  France  the  centralized  autocracy 
of  Napoleon's  empire  remains  almost  untouched.  In 


258    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

England  the  ancient  traditions  of  administration  are 
slow  to  change.  In  Germany  the  civil  service  will  be 
the  last  barrier  to  give  way. 

Secondly,  Socialism  has  forced  the  labor  question 
upon  the  lawmakers.  This  is  a  great  achievement. 
The  neglected  and  forgotten  portions  of  the  human 
family  are  now  the  objects  of  state  solicitude.  The 
record  of  this  revolution  is  written  in  the  statute  books. 
Turn  the  leaves  of  the  table  of  contents  of  a  modern 
parliamentary  journal,  and  compare  it  with  the  same 
work  of  thirty  years  ago.  Almost  the  entire  time  is  now 
taken  up  with  questions  that  may  be  called  humani- 
tarian rather  than  financial  or  political.  Grave  min- 
isters of  state  make  long  speeches  on  the  death-rate  of 
babies  in  the  cities,  on  the  cost  of  living  in  factory 
towns,  on  the  causes  of  that  most  heartbreaking  of 
modern  woes,  non-employment.  Budgets  are  now 
concerned  with  the  feeding  of  school  children  as  well 
as  the  building  of  warships,  and  with  the  training  of 
boys  as  well  as  the  drilling  of  soldiers. 

Nowhere  has  this  radical  change  taken  place  with- 
out a  labor  party.  The  laboring  man  forced  the  is- 
sue. He  bent  kings  and  cabinets  and  parliaments  to 
his  demands.  The  time  was  ripe,  society  had  reached 
that  stage  of  its  development  when  it  was  ready  to  take 
up  these  questions.  But  it  did  not  do  so  of  its  own 
free  will.  When  labor  parties  sprang  like  magic  into 
puissance,  a  decade  ago,  the  social  conscience  was 
ready  to  hear  their  plea.  Bismarck  foresaw  their  de- 
mands. But  he  was  too  obsessed  of  feudalism  to 
realize  their  motives.  Therefore  his  state  socialism 
failed  to  silence  the  Socialists.  The  workman  had  his 
heart  in  the  cause,  not  merely  his  tongue. 

And  the  third  great  achievement  is  the  natural  re- 


CONCLUSION  259 

suit  of  the  other  two.  When  democracy  is  potent 
enough  to  force  its  demands  on  parliament,  then  the 
power  of  the  state  is  ready  to  fulfil  its  demands.  So 
we  find  in  every  country  where  Social  Democracy  has 
gained  a  foothold  a  constant  increase  of  the  functions 
of  the  state.  What  shall  the  state  do?  That  is  now 
the  great  question.  One  hundred  years  ago  it  was, 
What  sort  of  a  state  shall  we  have?  That  is  an- 
swered: a  democratic  state;  at  least,  a  state  demo- 
cratic in  spirit.  The  state  is  no  longer  merely  judge, 
soldier,  lawmaker,  and  governor.  It  is  physician,  for- 
ester, bookkeeper,  schoolmaster,  undertaker,  and  a 
thousand  other  things.  Society  has  grown  complex, 
and  the  state,  which  is  only  another  name  for  society, 
has  developed  a  surprising  precocity. 

We  have  seen  that  in  England  especially  the  trend 
of  legislation  is  to  deprive  the  individual,  one  by  one, 
of  those  prerogatives  which  gave  him  dominion  over 
property.  A  man  owning  land  in  the  city  of  London, 
for  instance,  has  not  the  liberty  to  build  as  he  likes 
or  what  he  likes.  He  must  build  as  the  state  permits 
him,  and  the  exactions  are  manifold.  He  can  be  com- 
pelled to  build  a  certain  distance  from  the  street, — 
that  is,  the  city  demands  a  strip  of  his  land  for  com- 
mon use.  He  can  build  only  a  certain  height, — the 
community  wants  the  sunlight.  If  his  older  build- 
ings are  dilapidated,  the  city  tears  them  down.  If  the 
streets  through  his  allotment  are  too  narrow,  the  city 
widens  them.  In  short,  he  may  have  title  in  fee  sim- 
ple, but  the  community  has  a  title  superior.  Even  his 
income  from  this  parcel  of  land  is  not  all  his  own. 
The  state  now  takes  a  goodly  slice  in  taxes.  If  he  is 
inclined  to  resent  this,  and  does  not  improve  his 
property,  the  state  taxes  him  on  the  unearned  incre- 


2<5o    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

ment,  and  if  he  refuses  to  submit  to  this  "  socialism," 
the  constable  seizes  the  whole  parcel,  and  he  can  have 
what  is  left  after  the  community  has  satisfied  its 
demands. 

The  taxes  that  he  pays  are  distributed  over  a  vast 
variety  of  activities.  They  go  to  feed  school  children, 
to  pension  aged  workmen,  to  send  inspectors  into  the 
factories,  to  keep  up  hospitals,  as  well  as  to  light  and 
pave  the  streets  and  pay  policemen.  Other  taxes  that 
he  pays  on  other  forms  of  property  go  to  the  improve- 
ment of  agriculture,  to  the  payment  of  boards  of  arbi- 
tration, and  so  on.  In  short,  ownership  is  becoming 
more  and  more  only  an  incident;  it  is  not  merely  a 
badge  of  ease,  but  a  symbol  of  social  responsibility. 

The  burden  of  the  law  is  shifting  from  property  to 
persons,  from  protecting  things  to  protecting  humanity. 
This  change  from  the  Roman  law  is  almost  revolution- 
ary. Even  Blackstone,  our  halfway-mark  in  the  evo- 
lution of  the  common  law,  is  busy  with  postulates 
protecting  property. 

Where  is  this  encroachment  of  the  state  on  private 
"  rights  "  going  to  end?  There  are  some  things  which 
the  state  (society)  can  do  better  than  the  individual; 
like  the  marshaling  of  an  army  or  conducting  a  post- 
office,  and  things  that  are  done  to  counteract  the  self- 
ishness of  individuals,  like  factory  inspection.  But 
there  are  other  things  which  society  cannot  do ;  things 
that  depend  on  individual  effort,  like  art,  literature, 
and  invention.  The  two  fields  of  state  and  individual 
activity  merge  into  each  other.  Each  nation  marks 
its  own  distinctions.  But  this  is  certain :  in  a  democ- 
racy the  state  will  do  the  things  which  the  people 
want  it  to  do.  And  in  a  Social  Democracy  these 
things  are  numerous. 


CONCLUSION  261 

Social  Democracy  strikes  a  balance  between  indi- 
vidual duty  and  collective  energy.  It  brings  the  power 
of  government  (collective  power),  not  to  the  few  who 
are  rich,  therefore  ignoring  oligarchy ;  nor  to  the  few 
who  are  clever,  thereby  ignoring  tyranny;  nor  to  the 
few  who  are  well-born,  thus  discarding  aristocracy ;  but 
it  brings  all  the  power  of  the  government  to  all  the 
people.  It  attempts  to  coalesce  the  cleverness  of  the 
tyrant,  the  experience  of  the  aristocrat,  the  wealth  of 
the  industrial  nabob,  and  the  aggregate  momentum  of 
the  mass,  into  a  humanitarian  power.  It  attempts  to 
use  the  gifts  of  all  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Social  Democracy  is  the  resultant  of  two  forces 
meeting  from  opposite  directions :  the  forces  of  indus- 
trialism and  Socialism,  of  collectivism  and  individual- 
ism. No  one  can  draw  the  exact  direction  of  this 
resultant.  It  attempts  to  avoid  the  tyranny  and  selfish- 
ness of  the  few,  and  the  tyranny  and  greed  of  the 
many. 

Our  study  of  the  operation  of  governments  under 
the  sway  of  Social  Democracy  has  shown  the  sort  of 
legislation  that  is  demanded.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
repeat  here  the  details  of  these  laws.  But  it  is  neces- 
sary to  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  two  industrial  ques- 
tions which  have  absolutely  refused  to  bend  to  the 
power  of  government :  the  question  of  the  length  of 
the  workday  and  the  question  of  wages.  The  vast  ma- 
jority of  strikes  are  due  to  differences  over  these  two 
questions.  The  eight-hour  day  and  the  minimum  wage 
have  been  successful  only  in  a  limited  government  serv- 
ice.4 Nor  has  any  machinery  set  up  by  governments  to 
avoid  industrial  collisions  between  workmen  and  €m- 

4  The  coal  strike  in  England  in  March,  1912,  brought  the 
question  of  a  legalized  minimum  wage  before  the  people. 


262    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

ployers  been  successful  in  avoiding  differences  over 
hours  and  wages.  The  elaborate  system  of  Germany, 
for  instance,  is  nothing  more  than  the  good  will  of  the 
state  offered  to  the  warring  industrial  elements  in  the 
interests  of  peace.  The  questions  of  hours  and  wages 
are  so  fundamental  that  they  embrace  the  right  of 
private  property.  Any  power  that  divests  an  indi- 
vidual of  the  right  to  dispose  of  his  time  or  substance 
by  contract  virtually  deprives  him  of  the  right  of 
ownership. 

The  limits  to  the  possibilities  of  Social  Democracy 
are  the  limits  of  private  ownership.  This  brings  us  at 
once  to  the  verge  of  the  eternal  question  of  govern- 
ment— the  finding  of  a  just  ratio  between  individual 
and  collective  responsibility:  a  ratio  that  varies  with 
varying  nationalities,  and  that  will  vary  with  the  pass- 
ing years.  Each  generation  in  every  land  will  have  to 
fix  the  limitations  for  itself. 

The  new  Social  Democracy  has  acquired  certain 
characteristics  which  will  help  us  in  determining  the 
trend  of  its  movements.  In  the  first  place  it  is  an  edu- 
cated Social  Democracy.  The  taunt  of  ignorance  ap- 
plied to  the  old  Socialism  of  passion  cannot  be  applied 
to  the  new  Socialism  of  practice.  The  nations  of 
Europe  no  longer  debate  the  suitability  of  universal 
education.  That  question  happily  was  settled  for  the 
United  States  with  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims.  It 
took  one  hundred  years  for  Europe  to  understand  the 
Ordinance  of  1787,  that  "  schools  and  the  means  of 
education  shall  forever  be  encouraged."  Not  all  of  the 
European  nations  have  touched  the  heights  of  this 
ideal,  but  Social  Democracy  is  struggling  towards  it, 
and  schools,  more  or  less  efficient,  are  open  to  the 
workmen's  children.  This  education  is  extended  to 


CONCLUSION  263 

adults  by  the  press  and  by  self-imposed  studies.  The 
eagerness  with  which  men  and  women  flock  to  lectures 
and  night  classes  is  a  great  omen.  In  Paris  the  Ecole 
Socialiste  and  Universite  Populaire,  in  Germany  and 
Belgium  the  night  classes  in  the  labor  union  club- 
houses, the  debates  and  the  lecture  courses,  are  evi- 
dences of  intellectual  eagerness. 

In  the  second  place  it  is  a  drilled  democracy.  It 
is  organized  into  vast  co-operative  societies  and  trade 
unions.  Here  it  learns  the  lesson  of  constant  watch- 
fulness over  details.  This  training  in  the  infinite  little 
things  of  business  is  a  good  sedative.  Socialists  bar- 
gain and  sell  and  learn  the  lessons  of  competition;  do 
banking  and  learn  discount;  engage  in  manufacture 
and  learn  the  problem  of  the  employer. 

They  are,  moreover,  drilled  in  parliaments,  in  city 
and  county  councils,  in  communal  offices.  They  learn 
the  advantages  of  give  and  take,  are  skilled  in  com- 
promise, and  feel  the  friction  of  opposition. 

All  this  has  wrought  a  wonderful  change  in  Social- 
ism. To  a  Belgian  co-operativist  running  a  butcher- 
shop,  the  eight-hour  day  is  a  practical  problem ;  and  to 
a  Bavarian  member  of  a  city  council  the  question  of 
opening  communal  dwellings  ceases  to  be  only  a  sub- 
ject for  debate.  Nothing  has  brought  these  people  to 
earth  so  suddenly  as  the  infusion  of  earthly  experi- 
ence into  their  blood.  And  this  transfusion  has  given 
them  life.  It  has  rid  them  of  their  many  adjectives 
and  given  them  a  few  verbs.  It  has  robbed  them  in 
large  measure  of  their  mob  spirit.5  Every  year  the 


8  On  November  28,  1905,  a  vast  army  of  working  men  and 
women,  estimated  at  300,000  by  the  anti-Socialist  papers, 
marched  under  the  red  flag  through  the  streets  of  Vienna  as 
a  protest  against  the  existing  franchise  laws,  They  were  given 


264    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

arbitrary  governments  of  Europe  are  finding  police 
coercion  more  and  more  unnecessary.  The  Socialist 
crowd  is  growing  orderly,  is  achieving  that  self-control 
which  alone  entitles  a  people  to  self-government. 

It  is  not  unnatural  that  this  movement  has  made 
leaders.  Of  these,  Herr  August  Bebel  is  the  most  re- 
markable example.  This  woodturner,  turned  party 
autocrat  and  statesman,  is  a  never-ending  wonder  to 
the  German  aristocracy.  His  speeches  are  read  as 
eagerly  as  those  of  the  Chancellor,  and  his  opinions 
are  quoted  as  widely  as  the  Kaiser's.  When  in  1911  he 
made  his  great  speech  on  the  Morocco  Question  in  the 
Social  Democratic  Convention,  it  was  reported  by  the 
column  in  all  of  the  great  Continental  and  English 
dailies.  Bebel  is  an  example  of  what  the  open  door 
of  opportunity  will  do,  and  he  had  to  force  the  door 
himself.  A  few  years  ago,  in  a  moment  of  reminiscent 
confidence,  he  confessed  that  he  used  to  cherish  as  an 
ideal  the  time  when  he  could,  for  once,  have  all  the 
bread  and  butter  he  could  eat.  In  America  we  are 
accustomed  to  this  rising  into  power  of  obscure  and 
untried  men.  But  in  Europe  it  is  rare.  European 
Social  Democracy  is  an  expression  of  the  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  people  for  the  open  highways  of  oppor- 
tunity. 

In  the  third  place,  Social  Democracy  is  self-conscious. 
I  have  not  used  the  word  class-conscious,  because  it  is 
more  than  the  consciousness  of  an  economic  group. 
History  is  replete  with  instances  that  reveal  the  irre- 
sistible power  generated  by  mass  consciousness.  This 


the  right  of  way  and  walked  in  silence  through  the  streets  of 
the  capital.  Their  orderliness  was  more  impressive  than  their 
vast  numbers.  It  was  an  object-lesson  that  the  government  did 
not  forget. 


CONCLUSION  265 

is  the  psychology  of  nationalism.  The  dynamo  that 
generates  the  mysterious  voltage  of  patriotism,  of 
tribal  loyalty,  is  the  heart.  Socialism  has  replaced 
tribal  and  national  ideals  and  welded  its  devotees 
into  a  self-conscious  international  unity.  Whatever 
danger  there  may  be  in  Socialism  is  the  danger  of  the 
zealot.  The  ideal  may  be  impracticable  and  dis- 
carded, but  the  devotion  to  it  may  be  blind  and 
destructive. 

As  a  rule,  Socialist  leaders  and  writers  maintain 
that  this  drawing  together  of  Socialism  and  democracy 
is  only  transitory,  and  that  beyond  this  lies  the  prom- 
ised land  of  social  production.  Jaures  has  explained 
this  clearly :  "  Democracy,  under  the  impetus  given  it 
by  organized  labor,  is  evolving  irresistibly  toward  So- 
cialism, and  Socialism  toward  a  form  of  property 
which  will  deliver  man  from  his  exploitation  by  man, 
and  bring  to  an  end  the  regime  of  class  government. 
The  Radicals  flatter  themselves  that  they  can  put  a 
stop  to  this  movement  by  promising  the  working 
classes  some  reforms,  and  by  proclaiming  themselves 
the  guardians  of  private  property.  They  hope  to  hold 
a  large  part  of  the  proletariat  in  check  by  a  few  reform- 
ing laws  expressing  a  sentiment  of  social  solidarity, 
and  by  their  policy  of  defending  private  property  to 
rouse  the  conservative  forces,  the  petty  bourgeoisie, 
the  middle  classes,  and  the  small  peasant  proprietors 
to  oppose  Socialism."  6 

So  we  see  that  in  spite  of  their  experiences  Socialists 
still  draw  a  clear  distinction  between  their  Socialism 
and  democracy.  The  Socialist  is  willing  to  ignore  the 
experiences  of  the  past  twenty  years  in  his  ecstasy  of 
vision.  He  claims  that  whatever  has  been  done  is 

"  JEAN  JAUR£S,  Studies  in  Socialism,  Eng.  ed.,  p.  25. 


266    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

mere  reform.  He  affects  to  belittle  it,  the  Marxian 
scorns  it.  To  the  Socialist,  democracy  is  only  the  half- 
way house  on  the  road  to  the  economic  paradise.  He 
has  his  gaze  fixed  on  the  New  Jerusalem  of  "  co- 
operative production "  and  "  distributive  justice." 
Whether  this  New  City,  with  its  streets  paved  with 
the  gold  of  altruism  and  its  gates  garnished  with  the 
pearls  of  good  will  and  benevolence,  will  be  brought 
from  the  fleecy  clouds  of  ecstatic  imagination  to  our 
sordid  earth  remains  a  question  of  speculation  to 
that  vast  body  of  sincere  and  practical  citizens 
who  have  not  scaled  the  heights  of  the  Socialistic 
Patmos. 

European  Socialism  has  been  transplanted  to 
America.  But  its  growth  until  quite  recently  has  been 
very  slow,  and  confined  largely  to  immigrants.  There 
is  no  political  spur  to  hasten  the  movement.  Here 
democracy  has  been  achieved.  The  universal  ballot, 
free  speech,  free  press,  free  association  are  accom- 
plished. Many  of  the  economic  policies  espoused  by 
the  Social  Democratic  parties  of  Europe  are  written 
into  the  platforms  of  our  political  parties.  There  will 
be  no  independent  labor  party  of  any  strength  until  the 
old  parties  have  aroused  the  distrust  of  the  great  body 
of  laboring  men,  and  until  the  labor  unions  cut  loose 
from  their  traditional  aloofness  and  enter  politics. 
How  socialistic  such  a  party  will  be  must  depend  upon 
the  circumstances  attending  its  organization.  The  two 
third-party  movements  which  have  flourished  since  the 
Civil  War,  the  Greenback  movement  of  the  '/o's  and 
the  Populist  movement  of  the  'go's,  were  virtually 
"  class  "  parties,  restricted  to  the  agricultural  popula- 
tion of  the  Middle  and  Far  West;  and  both  of  them 
feared  Socialism  as  much  as  they  hated  capitalism. 


CONCLUSION  267 

Neither  of  these  parties  outlived  a  decade.  Economic 
prosperity  abruptly  ended  both.7 

The  stress  of  political  exclusiveness  and  the  harsh 
hand  of  government  will  not  produce  a  reactionary 
movement  among  the  workingmen  of  America.  But 
economic  circumstances  may  do  so.  We  are  still  a 
young  country  full  of  the  hope  of  youth.  The  ranks  of 
every  walk  of  life  are  filled  with  those  who  have  worked 
their  way  to  success  from  humble  origin.  Most  of  our 
famous  men  struggled  with  poverty  in  their  youth. 
Their  lives  are  constantly  held  up  to  the  children  of 
the  nation  as  examples  of  American  pluck,  enterprise, 
and  opportunity.  A  nation  that  lures  its  clerks  toward 
proprietorship  and  its  artisans  toward  independence 
offers  barren  soil  for  the  doctrines  of  discontent.  We 
have  no  stereotyped  poverty  in  the  European  sense. 
Our  farmers  own  their  acreage,  and  many  of  the  urban 
poor  are  able  to  buy  a  cottage  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
city. 

But  there  are  signs  that  these  conditions  are  under- 
going profound  changes.  Unlimited  competition  has 
led  to  limitless  consolidation  of  industries,  and  the 
financial  destinies  of  the  Republic  repose  in  the  hands 
of  comparatively  few  men.  So  much  of  the  Marxian 
proposition  is  fullfilled,  at  the  moment,  in  America. 
This  concentrated  wealth  has  not  been  unmindful  of 
politics.  Governmental  power  and  money  power  are 
closely  identified  in  the  public  mind.  Our  cities  are 
overflowing  with  a  new  population  from  the  excitable 
portions  of  southern  Europe,  a  population  that  is 
proletarian  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Panics  fol- 
low one  another  in  rapid  succession.  The  uneasiness 

7  What  the  so-called  Progressive  Party  will  accomplish,  in  this 
direction,  remains  to  be  seen. 


268    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

of  business  is  fed  by  the  turmoil  of  politics.  Unrest 
is  everywhere.  Labor  and  business  are  engaged  in  con- 
stant struggles  that  affect  all  members  of  society. 
The  cost  of  living  has  increased  alarmingly  in  the 
last  ten  years.  We  are  becoming  rapidly  a  manufac- 
turing nation;  the  balance  of  power  is  shifting  from 
the  farm  to  the  city.8 

European  Socialists  are  taking  a  keen  interest  in 
American  affairs.  Bebel  said  to  me :  "  You  are  getting 
ready  for  the  appropriation  of  the  great  productive 
enterprises  and  the  railways.  Your  trusts  make  the 
problem  easy."  John  Burns  prophesied  that  violence 
and  bloodshed  alone  would  check  us  in  our  mad  career 
for  wealth.  Jaures  asked  how  long  it  would  take  be- 
fore our  poverty  would  be  worse  than  that  of  Europe. 
At  a  distance  they  see  us  plunging  headlong  into  a 
Socialist  regime. 

*  The  Socialist  vote  in  the  United  States  is  as  follows : 

1892  21,164      1904  402,283 

1896  36,274      1908  402,464 

1900  87,814      1910  607,674 

1911  1,500,000  (estimated) 

The  vast  increase  shown  in  1911  was  made  in  municipal  and 
other  local  elections.  On  January  i,  1912,  377  villages,  towns, 
and  cities  in  36  States  had  some  Socialist  officers.  Several  im- 
portant cities  have  been  under  Socialist  rule,  notably  Milwaukee 
and  Schenectady,  where  the  Socialists  captured  the  entire  city 
machinery.  In  1912  the  Socialists  lost  control  of  Milwaukee, 
although  their  vote  increased  3,000.  Their  overthrow  was  ac- 
complished by  the  coalescing  of  the  old  parties  into  a  Citizens' 
Party,  a  line-up  between  radicalism  and  conservatism  that  will 
probably  become  the  rule  in  American  local  politics. 

The  party  is  organized  along  the  lines  of  the  German  Social 
Democracy.  Its  membership  has  grown  as  follows : 

1003  15,975  1908  41,751 

1904  20,764  1909  41,479 

1905  23,327  1910  48,011 

1906  26,784  1911  84,716 

1907  29,270  1912  (May)   142,000 


CONCLUSION  269 

Professor  Brentano  of  Munich  knows  us  better.  He 
said  to  me,  "  Conservation  will  be  your  Socialism."  9 
If  the  fundamental  principles  of  conservation  can  be 
embodied  in  constitutional  laws,  then  there  will  be 
an  almost  indefinite  extension  of  the  power  of  the  state 
over  industry.  It  will  embrace  mines,  forests,  irrigated 
deserts;  it  will  extend  to  the  sources  of  all  water  sup- 
ply and  water  power ;  the  means  of  transportation  may 
ultimately  be  included.  So  that  without  radical  legal 
and  institutional  changes  it  will  be  possible  for  many 
of  the  sources  of  our  raw  materials  to  be  placed  under 
governmental  surveillance,  leaving  the  processes  of 
manufacture  and  exchange  in  the  hands  of  private  in- 
dividuals. 

There  are  at  present  many  indications  that  this  will 
be  our  general  process  of  "  socialization."  The  people 
appear  to  want  it;  and  in  a  democracy  the  will  of  the 
people  must  prevail. 

Before  we  have  advanced  far  along  the  new  road  of 
conservation  we  will  find  it  necessary  to  reconstruct  our 
whole  system  of  administration.  The  haphazard  of 
politics  must  be  foreign  to  public  business.  Every- 
where in  Europe,  especially  in  Germany  and  England, 
the  people,  including  the  Socialists,  appear  satisfied 
with  the  efficiency  of  their  administrative  machinery. 
Who  would  intrust  the  running  of  a  railroad  to  our 
Federal  or  State  governments? 

We  have  reached  the  extreme  of  rampant  laissez- 
faire.  Our  youthful  vigor  and  material  wealth  have 

9  In  this  statement,  Professor  Brentano  re-enforces  the  opinions 
of  the  American  economist  to  whose  teachings  and  writings  the 
"  progressive "  movement  in  American  economics  and  politics, 
and  especially  the  movement  for  conservation  of  natural  re- 
sources, must  be  traced.  For  many  years  Professor  Richard 
T.  Ely  has  been  pointing  the  way  to  this  conservative  "  socializa- 
tion" of  our  natural  wealth. 


270    SOCIALISM  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  EUROPE 

kept  us  buoyant.  Politically  we  will  become  more 
radical,  economically  less  individualistic,  in  the  next 
cycle  of  our  development.  There  is  no  magic  that  saves 
a  people  except  the  magic  of  opportunity.  In  a  democ- 
racy especially  it  is  necessary  to  constantly  purge 
society  by  free-moving  currents  of  talent  and  virtue. 
This  replenishing  stream  has  its  sources  in  the  sturdy, 
healthy  workers  of  the  nation.  The  movement  is  from 
the  depths  upward.  It  is  the  supreme  function  of  the 
state  to  keep  these  sources  unclogged. 


APPENDIX 


I.  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

THE  following  list  of  the  principal  works  consulted  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume  may  serve  also  as  a  bibliography  on 
the  subject.  There  are  very  few  American  books  in  the  list, 
because  the  object  of  this  volume  is  to  summarize  the  European 
situation. 

For  the  spirit  of  the  movement  the  student  must  consult  the 
contemporary  literature  of  Socialism — the  newspapers,  magazines, 
and  pamphlets,  and  the  campaign  documents  that  flow  in  a  con- 
stant stream  from  the  Socialist  press.  These  are,  of  course,  too 
numerous  and  too  fluctuating  in  character  to  be  catalogued. 
Lists  of  these  publications  can  be  secured  at  the  following 
addresses : 

The  Fabian  Society,  3  Clements  Inn,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 

The  Labor  Party,  28  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  London, 
S.W. 

The  Independent  Labor  Party,  23  Bride  Lane,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.G. 

German  Social  Democracy,  Verlags-Buchhandlung  Vorwarts, 
68  Lindenstrasse,  Berlin,  S.W. 

Belgian  Labor  Party,  Le  Peuple,  33-35  rue  de  Sable,  Brussels. 

French  Socialist  Party,  La  Parti  Socialists,  16  rue  de  la 
Corderie,  Paris. 


GENERAL  WORKS:   THE  FOUNDERS   OF   SOCIALISM 

BLANC,  Louis :  Socialism.    An  English  edition  was  published  in 

1848. 

Organization  of  Labor.    English  edition  in  1848. 

BOOTH:  Saint-Simon  and  Saint-Simonism. 
CABET,  ETIENNE:  Le  Vrai  Chris tianisme,  1846. 
FEUERBACH,  FRIEDRICH  :  Die  Religion  der  Zukunft,  1843-5. 

-    Essence  of  Christianity.     An  English  translation,   1881, 

in  the  "  English  and  Foreign  Philosophical  Library." 
FOURIER,  F.  C.  M. :  CEuvres  Completes.    6  vols.  1841-5. 
GAM  MONO,  GATTI  DE:  Fourier  and  His  System,  1842. 
GIDE,  CHARLES  :  Selections  from  Fourier.    An  English  translation 

by  Julien  Franklin.     1901. 
GODWIN,    WILLIAM  :   An   Inquiry   Concerning    Political   Justice, 

1796. 

KINGSLEY:  Cheap  Clothes  and  Nasty,  1851. 
MORRELL,  J.  R. :  Life  of  Fourier,  1849. 
MORRIS,  WILLIAM  :  Works  of;  Chants  for  Socialists,  1885. 

373 


274  APPENDIX 

OWEN,  ROBERT:  An  Address,  etc.,  1813. 

Addresses,  etc.,  1816. 

An  Explanation  of  the  Distress,  etc.,  1823. 

Book  of  the  New  Moral  World,  etc.,  1836. 

PROUDHON,  PIERRE  JOSEPH:  The  Works  of.    English  translation 

by  Tucker,  American  edition,  1876. 
SAINT-SIMON  :  New  Christianity.    An  English  translation  by  Rev. 

J.  R  Smith.    1834. 

WEIL,  G. :  L'ficole  Saint-Simonisme — son  Histoire,  etc.,  1896. 
WEITLING,   WILLIAM:   Garantieen  der  Harmonic  und  Freiheit, 

1845- 

GENERAL  WORKS :  MODERN  DISCUSSION 

BEBEL,  A. :  Woman,  in  the  Past,  Present,  and  Future.  An  Eng- 
lish translation  appeared  in  London  in  1800. 

BERNSTEIN,  EDWARD:  Responsibility  and  Solidarity  in  the  Labor 
Struggle,  loop. 

BROOKS,  J.  G. :  The  Social  Unrest,  1903. 

ELY,  R.  T. :  French  and  German  Socialism,  1883. 

ENSOR,  R.  C.  K. :  Modern  Socialism.  A  useful  collection  of  So- 
cialist documents,  speeches,  programs,  etc. 

GRAHAM,  W. :  Socialism  New  and  Old,  1800. 

GUTHRIE,  W.  B. :  Socialism  Before  the  French  Revolution,  1907. 

GUYOT,  Y. :  The  Tyranny  of  Socialism,  1894. 

JAURES,  J. :  Studies  in  Socialism,  1906. 

KAUTSKY,  K. :  The  Social  Revolution.  An  English  translation 
by  J.  B.  Askew.  The  best  Continental  view  of  modern 
Marxianism,  and  the  most  widely  read. 

KELLY,  EDMOND  :  Twentieth  Century  Socialism,  1910.  The  most 
noteworthy  of  recent  American  contributions  to  So- 
cialist thought. 

KIRKUP  :  A  History  of  Socialism,  1909.  A  concise  and  authorita- 
tive narrative. 

KOIGEN,  D. :  Die  Kultur-ausschauung  des  Sozialismus,  1903. 

LEVY,  J.  H. :  The  Outcome  of  Individualism,  1890. 

MACDONALD,  J.  R. :  Socialism  and  Society,  1905.  MacDonald  is 
not  only  the  leader  of  the  British  Labor  Party,  but  his 
writings  comprise  a  comprehensive  exposition  of  the 
views  of  labor  democracy. 

Character  and  Democracy,  1906. 

Socialism,  1907. 

Socialism  and  Government,  1909. 

MILL,  J.  S. :  Socialism,  1891.  A  collection  of  essays,  etc.,  from 
the  writings  of  John  Stuart  Mill  touching  on  So- 
cialism. 

RAE,  J. :  Contemporary  Socialism,  1908.    A  standard  work. 

RICHTER  :  Pictures  of  the  Socialist  Future,  1893. 

SCH.SFFLE:  The  Impossibility  of  Social-Democracy,  1892. 

The  Quintessence  of  Socialism,  1898.    Probably  the  most 


APPENDIX  275 

authoritative  and  concise  refutation  of  the  Socialist 
dogmas. 

SOMBART,  WERNER:  Socialism  and  the  Social  Movement,  1909. 
Widely  read,  both  in  the  original  and  in  the  English 
translation.  Contains  an  interesting  critique  of  Marx- 
ianism. 

SPENCER,  HERBERT:  The  Coming  Slavery,  1884.  A  reprint  from 
The  Contemporary  Review. 

STODDARD,  JANE  :  The  New  Socialism,  1909.  A  convenient  com- 
pilation. 

TUGAN-BARANOVSKY,  M.  I.:  Modern  Socialism,  1910.  A  sys- 
tematic and  scholarly  resume  of  the  doctrines  of  So- 
cialism. 

WARSCHAUER,  O. :  Zur  Entwickelungsgeschichte  des  Sozialismus, 
1909. 

WELLS,  H.  G. :  New  Worlds  for  Old,  1909.  One  of  the  most 
popular  expositions  of  Socialism. 

MARX  AND  ENGELS 

AVELING,   E.  B. :    The  Student? s  Marx:     A  handy  compilation. 

1902. 
BOEHM-BAWERK  :  Karl  Marx  and  the  Close  of  His  System.    An 

English  translation  was  made  in  1898. 
ENGELS,  FRIEDRICH  :  Die  Entwickelung  des  Socialismus  von  der 

U  to  pie  sur  Wissenschaft,  1891. 
Socialism — Utopian  and  Scientific,  1892. 

—  L.     Feuerbach     und     der    Ausgang     der     Klassischen 

Deutschen  Philosophie,  1903. 

Brief e  und  Aussuge  von  Briefen,  1906. 

—  Friedrich  Engels,  Sein  Leben,  Sein  Wirken  und  Seine 

Schriften,  1895. 

MARX  and  ENGELS  :  The  Communist  Manifesto.  There  have  been 
many  editions ;  that  of  1888  is  probably  the  widest 
known  for  its  historical  Introduction. 

MARX,  KARL:  The  Poverty  of  Philosophy.  An  answer  to  Prou- 
dhon's  La  Philosophie  de  la  Misere.  An  English  trans- 
lation was  made  by  H.  Quelch,  1900. 

Enthiillungen  uber  den  Kommunisten  Process  zu  Koln, 

1875.     Engels'  Preface  gives  an  account  of  the  origin 
of  the  "  Society  of  the  Just." 
-    Die  Klassenkampfe  in  Frankreich,  1848-50. 

Revolution  and  Counter-Rev olution  in  Germany  in  1848. 

An  English  translation  appeared  in  1896. 

Capital,  1896. 

The  International  Workingmen's  Association.    Two  ad- 

dresses on  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  1870. 

The  International  Workingmen's  Association — The  Civil 

War  in  France.  An  address  to  the  General  Council  of 
the  International,  1871. 


276  APPENDIX 


THE  INTERNATIONAL 

DAVE,  V. :  Michel  Bakunin  et  Karl  Marx,  1900. 

ENGELS,  F. :  The  International  Workingmen's  Association,  1891. 

FROEBEL,    J. :    Ein    Lebenslauf — for    an    account    of    Marx    vs. 

Bakunin. 

GUILLAUME,  J. :  L' Internationale:  Documents  et  Souvenirs,  1905. 
JAECKH,  GUSTAV:  L' Internationale.    An  English  translation  was 

published  in  1904. 

JAEGER,  E. :  Karl  Marx  und  die  Internationale  Arbeiter  Associa- 
tion, 1873. 

MAURICE,  C.  E. :  Revolutionary  Movements  of  1848-9,  1887. 
TESTUT,  O. :  L' Internationale — son  origine,  son  but,  son  principes, 

son  organisation,  etc.    Third  edition,  1871.    A  German 

edition  translated  by  Paul  Frohberg,  Leipsic,  1872. 

Le  Livre  Bleu  de  I' Internationale,  1871. 

VILLETARD:  History  of  the  International.     Translated  by  Susan 

M.  Day,  New  Haven,  1874. 
Ein  Complot  gegen  die  Internationale  Arbeiter  Association,  1874, 

gives  a  careful  version  of  the  Marxian  side  of  the 

Bakunin  controversy. 
"  International    Workingmen's     Association  " — "  Proces-verbaux, 

Congres  a  Lausanne"  1867. 
Troisieme  Congres  de  I' Association  Internationale  des  Travail- 

leurs,  Brussels,  1868. 

Manifeste  aux  Travailleurs  des  Campagnes.    Paris,  1870. 
Manifeste  addresse  a  toutes  les  associations  ouvrieres,  etc.    Paris, 

1874- 
International  Arbeiter  Association  Protokoll.    A  German  edition 

of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Paris  Congress,  1890,  with 

a  valuable  Introduction  by  W.  Liebknecht. 


FRANCE 

JAEGER,  EUGEN  :  Geschichte  der  Socialen  Bewegung  und  des 
Socialismus  in  Frankreich,  1890. 

JAURES,  JEAN  :  L'Armee  Nouvelle — L' Organisation  Socialiste  de 
la  France,  1911.  The  initial  installment  of  the  long- 
promised  account  of  the  Socialist  state. 

LAW,  A. :  L'(Euvre  de  Millerand,  1902.  An  appreciative  history 
of  Millerand's  work.  Contains  many  documents, 
speeches,  etc. 

PEIXOTTO,  J. :  The  French  Revolution  and  Modern  Socialism, 
1901. 

VON  STEIN,  LORENZ  :  Der  Sosialismus  und  Communismus  des 
Heutigen  Frankreichs,  1848. 

WEIL,  GEORGES  :  Histoire  du  Mouvement  Socialiste  en  France, 
1904. 


APPENDIX  277 


BELGIUM 

BERTRAND,  Louis :  Histoire  de  la  Democratic  et  Socialisme  en 
Belgique  depuis  1830,  1906.  Introduction  by  Vander- 
yelde. 

Histoire  de  la  Cooperation  en  Belgique,  1902. 

BERTRAND,  Louis,  et  al. :  75  Annees  de  Domination  Bourgeois, 

1905. 

DESTR£E  et  VANDERVELDE:  Le  Socialisme  en  Belgique. 
LANGEROCK,  H. :  Le  Socialisme  Agraire,  1895. 
STEFFENS-FRAUWEILER,  H.  VON  :  Der  Agrar  Sozialismus  in  Bel- 

gien,  Munich,  1893. 
VANDERVELDE,  EMILE:  Histoire  de  la  Cooperation  en  Belgique, 

1902. 

Essais  sur  la  Question  Agraire  en  Belgique,  1902. 

Article   on   the    General    Strike   in   Archiv  filr   Sosial 

•  Wissenschaft,  May,  1908. 

GERMANY 

BEBEL,  AUGUST:  Die  Social-Demokratie  im  Deutschen  Reichstag. 
A  series  of  brochures  detailing  the  activity  of  the 
Social  Democrats — 1871-1893.  Of  course  from  a  par- 
tisan point  of  view. 

Aus  Meinem  Leben,  1910.     An  intimate  recital  of  the 

development  of  Social  Democracy  in  Germany. 
BERNSTEIN,  EDWARD:  Ferdinand  Lassalle  und  Seine  Bedeutung 

fur  die  Arbeiter  Klasse,  1904. 
BRANDES,   GEORG:   Ferdinand   Lassalle:   Ein   Literarisches   Cha- 

rakter-Bild.    Berlin,  1877.    An  English  translation  was 

published  in  1911.    This  is  a  brilliant  biography. 
DAWSON,  W.  H. :  German  Socialism  and  Ferdinand  Lassalle,  1888. 

•  Bismarck  and  State  Socialism,  1890. 
The  German  Workman,  1906. 

The  Evolution  of  Modern  Germany,  1908. 

EISNER,  K. :  Liebknecht — Sein  Leben  und  Wirken,  1900.    A  brief 

sketch  of  the  veteran   Social  Democrat. 
FRANK,  DR.  LUDWIG:  Die  Burgerlichen  Parteien  des  Deutschen 

Reichstags,  1911.     A  Socialist's  account  of  the  rise  of 

German  political  parties. 
HARMS,  B. :  Ferdinand  Lassalle  und  Seine  Bedeutung  fur  die 

Deutsche  Sosial-Demokratie,  1009. 

• Sozialismus  und  die  Sosial-Demokratie  in  Deutschland. 

HOOPER,  E.  G. :  The  German  State  Insurance  System,  1908. 
KAMPFMEYER,  P. :  Geschichte  der  Modernen  Polisei  im  Zusam- 

menhang  mit  der  Allgemeinen  Kulturbewegung,  1897. 

A  Socialist's  recital  of  the  use  of  police. 

Geschichte     der     Modernen     Gesellschafts-klassen     in 

Deutschland,  1896.    From  a  Socialist  standpoint. 


278  APPENDIX 

KOHUT,  A.:  Ferdinand  Lassalle — Sein  Leben  und  Wirken,  1889. 
LASSALLE,  FERDINAND:    Offenes  Antwortschreiben  an  das  Cen- 

tral-Comite  zur  Berufung  eines  Allgemeinen  Deutschen 

Arbeiter  Congress  zu  Leipzig,  1863. 

Die  Wissenschaft  und  die  Arbeiter,  1863. 

Macht  und  Recht,  1863.    A  complete  edition  of  Lassalle's 

works  was  published  in  1899,  under  the  title  "  Gesamte 

Werke   Ferdinand   Lassalles." 
LOWE,  C. :  Prince  Bismarck:  An  Historical  Biography,  1885.    A 

sympathetic  description  of  Bismarck's  attempt  to  solve 

the  social  problem. 
MEHRING,  F. :  Die  Deutsche  Sozial-Demokratie — Ihre  Geschichte 

und  Ihre  Lehre,  1879.    Third  edition.    A  compact  nar- 
rative. 

MEYER,  R. :  Emancipationskampf  des  Vierten  Standes,  1882. 
NAUMANN,  FRIEDRICH:  Die  Politischen  Parteien,  1911.     History 

of  German  political  parties.     A  Radical  account. 
SCHMOELE,    J. :    Die    Sozial-Demokratische    Gewerkschaften    in 

Deutschland  seit  dem  Erlasse  des  Sozialisten  Gesetzes, 

1896,  etc. 
Sozial-Demokratische  Partei-Tag-Protokoll.    Annual  reports  of 

the  party  conventions. 
Documente  des  Spzialismus.     An  annual  publication  edited  by 

Bernstein. 

ENGLAND 

ARNOLD-FOSTER,  H. :  English  Socialism  of  To-day,  1908. 
BARKER,  J.  E. :  British  Socialism,  1908.    A  collection  of  quotations. 
BIBBY,  F. :  Trades  Unionism  and  Socialism,  1907. 
BLATCHFORD,  R. :  Merrie  England,  1895. 

CHURCHILL,  WINSTON  :  Liberalism  and  the  Social  Problem,  1909. 
ENGELS,  F. :  The  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  in  England 

•in  1844,  1892. 

FAY,  C.  R. :  Co-operation  at  Home  and  Abroad,  1908. 
GAM  MAGE,  R.  G. :  History  of  the  Chartist  Movement,  1894. 
HARDIE,  KEIR  :  From  Serfdom  to  Socialism,  1907. 
HOBHOUSE,  L.  T. :  The  Labor  Movement,  1898. 

Liberalism,  1911. 

Democracy  and  Reaction,  1904. 

HOBSON,  J.  A. :  The  Crisis  in  Liberalism,  1909. 
HOLYOAKE:  History  of  Cooperation,  1906. 
KNOTT,  Y. :  Conservative  Socialism,  1909. 
LECKY,  W.  E.  H. :  Democracy  and  Liberty,  1899. 
MACDONALD,  J.  R. :  The  People  in  Power,  1900. 

Socialism  To-day,  1909. 

MASTERMAN,  C.  F.  G. :  The  Condition  of  England,  1909. 
MCCARTHY,  J. :  The  Epoch  of  Reform,  1882.    For  Chartism  and 

the    reform    movements    of    the    nineteenth    century 

democracy. 
MONEY,  CHIOZZA:  Riches  and  Poverty,  1911. 


APPENDIX  279 

NICHOLSON,  J.  S. :  History,  Progress  and  Ideals  of  Socialism. 
A  criticism  of  the  Socialist  viewpoint. 

NOEL,  CONRAD  :  The  Labor  Party.  A  criticism  of  the  attitude  of 
Liberals  and  Conservatives  toward  the  social  problems. 
From  the  Labor  Party  viewpoint. 

SNOWDEN,  P. :  The  Socialist  Budget,  1907. 

TOWLER,  W.  G. :  Municipal  Socialism.  The  anti-Socialist  view- 
point. 

The  Times:  The  Socialist  Movement  in  Great  Britain,  1909.  A 
reprint  of  a  series  of  carefully  prepared  articles  in 
The  Times. 

VILLIERS,  B. :  The  Opportunity  of  Liberalism,  1904. 

The  Socialist  Movement  in  England,  1908. 

WEBB,  S. :  Wanted — A  Program:  An  Appeal  to  the  Liberal  Party, 
1888. 

Socialism  in  England,  1890. 

WEBB,  B.  and  S. :  Industrial  Democracy,  1902. 

The  History  of  Trade  Unionism,  1911. 


II.  FRANCE 

i.  NOTE  ON  THE  FRENCH  GOVERNMENT 

YVES  GUYOT,  the  distinguished  French  publicist,  told  the  writer 
that  there  was  only  one  compact,  disciplined  political  party  in 
France,  the  United  Socialists.  Other  than  the  Socialists,  there 
is  no  well-organized  group  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The 
Right,  Center,  and  Left  coalesce  almost  insensibly  into  each 
other.  Party  platforms  and  party  loyalty  are  replaced  by  a 
political  individualism  that  to  an  American  politician  would 
seem  like  political  anarchy. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  is  supreme — the  ministry  stands  or 
falls  upon  its  majority's  behest.  This  gives  to  the  deputy  a 
peculiar  personal  power.  He  is  only  loosely  affiliated  with  his 
group,  is  a  powerful  factor  in  the  government  of  the  Republic, 
and  is  directly  dependent  upon  his  constituents  for  his  tenure 
in  office.  The  result  is  a  personal,  rather  then  a  party,  system 
of  politics. 

This  remarkably  decentralized  system  of  representative  gov- 
ernance is  counterbalanced  by  a  highly  efficient  and  completely 
centralized  system  of  administration,  which  is  based  on  civil 
service,  and  outlives  all  the  mutations  of  ministries  and  shift- 
ing of  deputies.  The  ministry,  naturally,  has  theoretical  con- 
trol over  the  administrative  officials.  During  the  campaign  for 
reorganizing  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  disestablishment  of  the 
Church,  under  the  Radical-Socialist  bloc,  a  few  years  ago,  Gen- 
eral Andre,  acting  for  the  ministry,  resorted  to  a  comprehensive 
system  of  espionage  to  ferret  out  the  undesirable  officers.  Every 
commune  has  its  official  scrutinizer,  who  reports  the  doings  of 
the  employees  to  the  government. 

This,  in  turn,  has  created  a  clientilism.  The  deputy  is  needed 
by  the  ministry,  the  deputy  needs  the  votes  of  his  constituency, 
the  local  officials  need  the  good  will  of  the  deputy.  The  result 
is  a  fawning  favoritism  that  has  taken  the  place  of  party  servi- 
tude as  we  know  it  in  America. 

The  Socialists  have  precipitated  a  serious  problem  in  this 
relation  of  the  government  employee  to  the  state :  Can  the  state 
employees  form  a  union?  There  are  nearly  1,000,000  state  em- 
ployees. This  includes  not  only  all  the  functionaries,  but  all  the 
workmen  in  the  match  factories,  the  mint,  the  national  porcelain 
factory  and  tobacco  plants,  and  the  navy  yards.  In  1885  and 
again  in  1902  the  Court  of  Cassation  decided  that  "  the  right 
of  forming  a  union  (syndicat)  is  confined  to  those  who,  whether 
as  employers  or  as  workmen  or  employed,  are  engaged  in 

280 


APPENDIX  281 

industry,  agriculture,  or  commerce,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
persons  and  all  other  occupations." 

The  government  has,  however,  countenanced  some  infringe- 
ments. A  few  syndicates  of  municipal  and  departmental  em- 
ployees are  allowed ;  but  they  are  mostly  workmen,  not  strictly 
functionaries.  There  are  several  syndicates  of  elementary 
school  teachers.  But  they  have  not  been  allowed  to  federate 
their  unions.  At  Lyons  the  teachers  formed  a  union  and,  ac- 
cording to  law,  filed  their  rules  and  regulations  with  the  proper 
official,  who  turned  them  over  to  the  Minister  of  Justice,  and 
after  a  cabinet  consultation  it  was  decided  that  the  union  was 
illegal,  but  would  be  ignored.  They  then  joined  the  local 
Bourse  du  Travail  (federation  of  labor),  and  Briand,  then  Min- 
ister of  Education,  vetoed  their  action.  Then  a  number  of 
branches  in  the  public  service,  including  post-office  and  customs- 
house  employees,  teachers,  etc.,  united  in  forming  a  committee 
"  pour  la  defense  du  droit  syndical  des  salaries  de  I'etat,  des 
departements  et  du  commerce."  This  "  Committee  of  Defense " 
petitioned  Clemenceau  on  the  right  to  organize,  and  intimated 
that  the  great  and  only  difference  between  the  state  and  the 
private  employer  is  that  the  former  adds  political  to  economic 
oppression.  This  is  pure  Syndicalism.  Under  the  individual 
political  jugglery  that  takes  the  place  of  the  party  system  in 
France,  the  problem  is  not  made  any  the  easier. 


2.  PROGRAM  OF  THE  LIBERAL  WING  OF  THE  FRENCH 
SOCIALISTS,  ADOPTED  AT  TOURS,  1902,  UNDER 
THE  LEADERSHIP  OF  JAURES 

/. — Declaration  of  Principles 

SOCIALISM  proceeds  simultaneously  from  the  movement  of 
democracy  and  from  the  new  forms  of  production.  In  history, 
from  the  very  morrow  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  proletarians 
perceived  that  the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  would 
remain  an  illusion  unless  society  transformed  ownership. 

How,  indeed,  could  freedom,  ownership,  security,  be  guar- 
anteed to  all,  in  a  society  where  millions  of  workers  have  no 
property  but  their  muscles,  and  are  obliged,  in  order  to  live, 
to  sell  their  power  of  work  to  the  propertied  minority? 

To  extend,  therefore,  to  every  citizen  the  guarantees  inscribed 
in  the  Declaration  of  Rights,  our  great  Babeuf  demanded  owner- 
ship in  common,  as  a  guarantee  of  welfare  in  common.  Com- 
munism was  for  the  boldest  proletarians  the  supreme  expression 
of  the  Revolution. 

Between  the  political  regime,  the  outcome  of  the  revolutionary 
movement,  and  the  economic  regime  of  society,  there  is  an 
intolerable  contradiction. 

In  the  political  order  democracy  is  realized :  all  citizens  share 


282  APPENDIX 

equally,  at  least  by  right,  in  the  sovereignty;  universal  suffrage 
is  communism  in  political  power. 

In  the  economic  order,  on  the  other  hand,  a  minority  is 
sovereign.  It  is  the  oligarchy  of  capital  which  possesses,  directs, 
administers,  and  exploits. 

Proletarians  are  acknowledged  fit  as  citizens  to  manage  the 
milliards  of  the  national  and  communal  budgets ;  as  laborers, 
in  the  workshop,  they  are  only  a  passive  multitude,  which  has 
no  share  in  the  direction  of  enterprises,  and  they  endure  the 
domination  of  a  class  which  makes  them  pay  dearly  for  a 
tutelage  whose  utility  ceases  and  whose  prolongation  is  arbitrary. 

The  irresistible  tendency  of  the  proletarians,  therefore,  is 
to  transfer  into  the  economic  order  the  democracy  partially 
realized  in  the  political  order.  Just  as  all  the  citizens  have  and 
handle  in  common,  democratically,  the  political  power,  so  they 
must  have  and  handle  in  common  the  economic  power,  the 
means  of  production. 

They  must  themselves  appoint  the  heads  of  work  in  the 
workshops,  as  they  appoint  the  heads  of  government  in  the  city, 
and  reserve  for  those  who  work,  for  the  community,  the  whole 
product  of  work. 

This  tendency  of  political  democracy  to  enlarge  itself  into 
social  democracy  has  been  strengthened  and  defined  by  the  whole 
economic  evolution. 

In  proportion  as  the  capitalistic  regime  developed  its  effects, 
the  proletariat  became  conscious  of  the  irreducible  opposition 
between  its  essential  interests  and  the  interests  of  the  class 
dominant  in  society,  and  to  the  bourgeois  form  of  democracy 
it  opposed  more  and  more  the  complete  and  thorough  com- 
munistic democracy. 

All  hope  of  universalizing  ownership  and  independence  by 
multiplying  small  autonomous  producers  has  disappeared.  The 
great  industry  is  more  and  more  the  rule  in  modern  production. 

By  the  enlargement  of  the  world's  markets,  by  the  growing 
facility  of  transport,  by  the  division  of  labor,  by  the  increasing 
application  of  machinery,  by  the  concentration  of  capitals, 
immense  concentrated  production  is  gradually  ruining  or  sub- 
ordinating the  small  or  middling  producers. 

Even  where  the  number  of  small  craftsmen,  small  traders, 
small  peasant  proprietors,  does  not  diminish,  their  relative  im- 
portance in  the  totality  of  production  grows  less  unceasingly. 
They  fall  under  the  sway  of  the  great  capitalists. 

Even  the  peasant  proprietors,  who  seem  to  have  retained 
a  little  independence,  are  more  and  more  exposed  to  the 
crushing  forces  of  the  universal  market,  which  capitalism  directs 
without  their  concurrence  and  against  their  interests. 

For  the  sale  of  their  wheat,  wine,  beetroot,  and  milk,  they 
are  more  and  more  at  the  mercy  of  great  middlemen  or  great 
industries  of  milling,  distilling,  and  sugar-refining,  which  dom- 
inate and  despoil  peasant  labor. 

The  industrial  proletarians,  having  lost  nearly  all  chance  of 


APPENDIX  283 

individually  rising  to  be  employers,  and  being  thus  doomed  to 
eternal  dependence,  are  further  subject  to  incessant  crises  of 
unemployment  and  misery,  let  loose  by  the  unregulated  com- 
petition of  the  great  capitalist  forces. 

The  immense  progress  of  production  and  wealth,  largely 
usurped  by  parasitic  classes,  has  not  led  to  an  equivalent  progress 
in  well-being  and  security  for  the  workers,  the  proletarians. 
Whole  categories  of  wage-earners  are  abruptly  thrown  into 
extreme  misery  by  the  constant  introduction  of  new  mechanisms 
and  by  the  abrupt  movements  and  transformations  of  industry. 

Capitalism  itself  admits  the  disorder  of  the  present  regime 
of  production,  since  it  tries  to  regulate  it  for  its  gain  by 
capitalistic  syndicates,  by  trusts. 

Even  if  it  succeeded  in  actually  disciplining  all  the  forces 
of  production,  it  would  only  do  so  while  consummating  the 
domination  and  the  monopoly  of  capital. 

There  is  only  one  way  of  assuring  the  continued  order  and 
progress  of  production,  the  freedom  of  every  individual,  and 
the  growing  well-being  of  the  workers ;  it  is  to  transfer  to  the 
collectivity,  to  the  social  community,  the  ownership  of  the  cap- 
italistic means  of  production. 

The  proletariat,  daily  more  numerous,  ever  better  prepared 
for  combined  action  by  the  great  industry  itself,  understands 
that  in  collectiveness  or  communism  lie  the  necessary  means  of 
salvation  for  it. 

As  an  oppressed  and  exploited  class,  it  opposes  all  the  forces 
of  oppression  and  exploitation,  the  whole  system  of  ownership, 
which  debases  it  to  be  a  mere  instrument.  It  does  not  expect 
its  emancipation  from  the  good  will  of  rulers  or  the  spontaneous 
generosity  of  the  propertied  classes,  but  from  the  continual 
and  methodical  pressure  which  it  exerts  upon  the  privileged 
class  and  the  government. 

It  sets  before  itself  as  its  final  aim,  not  a  partial  amelioration, 
but  the  total  transformation  of  society.  And  since  it  acknowl- 
edges no  right  as  belonging  to  capitalistic  ownership,  it  feels 
bound  to  it  by  no  contract.  It  is  determined  to  fight  it,  thor- 
oughly, and  to  the  end ;  and  it  is  in  this  sense  that  the  pro- 
letariat, even  while  using  the  legal  means  which  democracy 
puts  into  its  hands,  is  and  must  remain  a  revolutionary  class. 

Already  by  winning  universal  suffrage,  by  winning  and  exer- 
cising the  right  of  combining  to  strike  and  of  forming  trade- 
unions,  by  the  first  laws  regulating  labor  and  causing  society 
to  insure  its  members,  the  proletariat  has  begun  to  react  against 
the  fatal  effects  of  capitalism;  it  will  continue  this  great  and 
unceasing  effort,  but  it  will  only  end  the  struggle  when  all 
capitalist  property  has  been  reabsorbed  by  the  community,  and 
when  the  antagonism  of  classes  has  been  ended  by  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  classes  themselves,  reconciled,  or  rather  made  one, 
in  common  production  and  common  ownership. 

How  will  be  accomplished  the  supreme  transformation  of  the 
capitalist  regime  into  the  collectivist  or  communist?  The  human 


284  APPENDIX 

mind  cannot  determine  beforehand  the  mode  in  which  history 
will  be  accomplished. 

The  democratic  and  bourgeois  revolution,  which  originated 
in  the  great  movement  of  France  in  1789,  has  come  about  in 
different  countries  in  the  most  different  ways.  The  old  feudal 
system  has  yielded  in  one  case  to  force,  in  another  to  peaceful 
and  slow  evolution.  The  revolutionary  bourgeoisie  has  at  one 
place  and  time  proceeded  to  brutal  expropriation  without  com- 
pensation, at  another  to  the  buying  out  of  feudal  servitudes. 

No  one  can  know  in  what  way  the  capitalist  servitude  will  be 
abolished.  The  essential  thing  is  that  the  proletariat  should 
be  always  ready  for  the  most  vigorous  and  effective  action.  It 
would  be  dangerous  to  dismiss  the  possibility  of  revolutionary 
events  occasioned  either  by  the  resistance  or  by  the  criminal 
aggression  of  the  privileged  class. 

It  would  be  fatal,  trusting  in  the  one  word  revolution,  to 
neglect  the  great  forces  which  the  conscious,  organized  pro- 
letariat can  employ  within  democracy. 

These  legal  means,  often  won  by  revolution,  represent  an 
accumulation  of  revolutionary  force,  a  revolutionary  capital,  of 
which  it  would  be  madness  not  to  take  advantage. 

Too  often  the  workers  neglect  to  profit  by  the  means  of  action 
which  democracy  arid  the  Republic  put  into  their  hands.  They 
do  not  demand  from  trade-unionist  action,  co-operative  action, 
or  universal  suffrage,  all  that  those  forms  of  action  can  give. 

No  formula,  no  machinery,  can  enable  the  working-class  to 
dispense  with  the  constant  effort  of  organization  and  education. 

The  idea  of  the  general  strike,  of  general  strikes,  is  invincibly 
suggested  to  proletarians  by  the  growing  magnitude  of  working- 
class  organization.  They  do  not  desire  violence,  which  is  very 
often  the  result  of  an  insufficient  organization  and  a  rudimentary 
education  of  the  proletariat ;  but  they  would  make  a  great 
mistake  if  they  did  not  employ  the  powerful  means  of  action, 
which  co-ordinates  working-class  forces  to  subserve  the  great 
interests  of  the  workers  or  of  society ;  they  must  group  and 
organize  themselves  to  be  in  a  position  to  make  the  privileged 
class  more  and  more  emphatically  aware  of  the  gulf  which  may 
suddenly  be  cleft  open  in  the  economic  life  of  societies  by  the 
abrupt  stoppage  of  the  worn-out  and  interminably  exploited 
workers.  They  can  thereby  snatch  from  the  selfishness  of  the 
privileged  class  great  reforms  interesting  the  working-class  in 
general,  and  hasten  the  complete  transformation  of  an  unjust 
society.  But  the  formula  of  the  general  strike,  like  the  partial 
strike,  like  political  action,  is  only  valuable  through  the  progress 
of  the  education,  the  thought,  and  the  will  of  the  working- 
class. 

The  Socialist  party  defends  the  Republic  as  a  necessary  means 
of  liberation  and  education.  Socialism  is  essentially  republican. 
It  might  be  even  said  to  be  the  Republic  itself,  since  it  is 
the  extension  of  the  Republic  to  the  regime  of  property  and 
labor. 


APPENDIX  285 

The  Socialist  party  needs,  to  organize  the  new  world,  free 
minds,  emancipated  from  superstitions  and  prejudices.  It  asks 
for  and  guarantees  every  human  being,  every  individual,  absolute 
freedom  of  thinking,  and  writing,  and  affirming  their  beliefs. 
Over  against  all  religions,  dogmas,  and  churches,  as  well  as  over 
against  the  class  conception  of  the  bourgeoisie,  it  sets  the 
unlimited  right  of  free  thought,  the  scientific  conception  of  the 
universe,  and  a  system  of  public  education  based  exclusively  on 
science  and  reason. 

Thus  accustomed  to  free  thought  and  reflection,  citizens  will 
be  protected  against  the  sophistries  of  the  capitalistic  and  clerical 
reaction.  The  small  craftsmen,  small  traders,  and  small  peasant 
proprietors  will  cease  to  think  that  it  is  Socialism  which  wishes 
to  expropriate  them.  The  Socialist  party  will  hasten  the  hour 
when  these  small  peasant  proprietors,  ruined  by  the  underselling 
of  their  produce,  riddled  with  mortgage  debts,  and  always  liable 
to  judicial  expropriation,  will  eventually  understand  the  advan- 
tages of  generalized  and  systematized  association,  and  will  claim 
themselves,  as  a  benefit,  the  socialization  of  their  plots  of 
land. 

But  it  would  be  useless  to  prepare  inside  each  nation  an 
organization  of  justice  and  peace,  if  the  relations  of  the  nations 
to  one  another  remained  exposed  to  every  enterprise  of  force, 
every  suggestion  of  capitalist  greed. 

The  Socialist  party  desires  peace  among  nations ;  it  condemns 
every  policy  of  aggression  and  war,  whether  continental  or 
colonial.  It  constantly  keeps  on  the  order  of  the  day  for  civilized 
countries  simultaneous  disarmament.  While  waiting  for  the  day 
of  definite  peace  among  nations,  it  combats  the  militarist  spirit 
by  doing  its  utmost  to  approximate  the  system  of  permanent 
armies  to  that  of  national  militias.  It  wishes  to  protect  the 
territory  and  the  independence  of  the  nation  against  any  sur- 
prise; but  every  offensive  policy  and  offensive  weapon  is  utterly 
condemned  by  it. 

The  close  understanding  of  the  workers,  of  the  proletarians 
of  every  country,  is  necessary  as  well  to  beat  back  the  forces  of 
aggression  and  war  as  to  prepare  by  a  concerted  action  the 
general  triumph  of  Socialism.  The  international  agreement  of 
the  militant  proletarians  of  every  country  will  prepare  the 
triumph  of  a  free  humanity,  where  the  differences  of  classes 
will  have  disappeared,  and  the  difference  of  nations,  instead 
of  being  a  principle  of  strife  and  hatred,  will  be  a  prin- 
ciple of  brotherly  emulation  in  the  universal  progress  of  man- 
kind. 

It  is  in  this  sense  and  for  these  reasons  that  the  Socialist 
party  has  formulated  in  its  congresses  the  rule  and  aim  of  its 
action — international  understanding  of  the  workers ;  political  and 
economic  organization  of  the  proletariat  as  a  class  party  for 
the  conquest  of  government  and  the  socialization  of  the  means 
of  production  and  exchange ;  that  is  to  say,  the  transformation 
of  capitalist  society  into  a  collectivist  or  communist  society- 


286  APPENDIX 

II. — Program  of  Reforms 

The  Socialist  party,  rejecting  the  policy  of  all  or  nothing,  has 
a  program  of  reforms  whose  realization  it  pursues  forthwith. 

(i)  Democratization  of  Public  Authorities 

1.  Universal   direct   suffrage,   without   distinction    of   sex,   in 
every  election. 

2.  Reduction  of  time  of  residence.    Votes  to  be  cast  for  lists, 
with  proportional  representation,  in  every  election. 

3.  Legislative  measures  to  secure  the  freedom  and  secrecy  of 
the  vote. 

4.  Popular  right  of  initiative  and  referendum. 

5.  Abolition  of   the   Senate  and   Presidency  of  the   Republic. 
The    powers    at    present    belonging    to    the    President    of  the 
Republic  and  the   Cabinet  to  devolve  on  an  executive  council 
appointed  by  the  Parliament. 

6.  Legal  regulation  of  the  legislator's  mandate,  to  be  revocable 
by  the  vote  of  any  absolute  majority  of  his  constituents  on  the 
register. 

7.  Admission  of  women  to  all  public  functions. 

8.  Absolute  freedom  of  the  press,  and  of  assembly  guaranteed 
only  by  the  common  law.     Abrogation  of  all  exceptional  laws 
on  the  press.     Freedom  of  civil  associations. 

9.  Full  administrative  autonomy  of  the  departments  and  com- 
munes, under  no  reservations  but  that  of  the  laws  guaranteeing 
the  republican,  democratic,  and  secular  character  of  the  State. 

(2)  Complete  Secularization  of  the  State 

1.  Separation  of  the  Churches  and  the  State;  abolition  of  the 
Budget  of  Public  Worship ;  freedom  of  public  worship ;  prohibi- 
tion of  the  political  and  collective  action  of  the  Churches  against 
the  civil  laws  and  republican  liberties. 

2.  Abolition    of    the    congregations;    nationalization    of    the 
property  in  mortmain,  of   every  kind,  belonging  to  them,   and 
appropriation  of  it  for  works  of  social  insurance  and  solidarity; 
in  the  interval,  all  industrial,  agricultural,  and  commercial  under- 
takings are  to  be  forbidden  to  the  congregations. 

(3)  Democratic  and  Humane  Organization  of  Justice 

1.  Substitution   for  all   the   present  courts,   whether   civil  or 
criminal,  of  courts  composed  of  a  jury  taken  from  the  electoral 
register  and   judges   elected   under  guarantees   of  competence; 
the  jury  to  be  formed  by  drawing  lots  from  lists  drawn  up  by 
universal  suffrage. 

2.  Justice  to  be  without  fee.     Transformation  of  ministerial 


APPENDIX  287 

offices   into   public    functions.     Abolition   of   the   monopoly   of 
the  bar. 

3.  Examination   from   opposite  sides   at  every  stage   and   on 
every  point. 

4.  Substitution    for    the    vindictive    character    of    the    present 
punishments,  of  a  system  for  the  safe  keeping  and  the  ameliora- 
tion of  convicts. 

5.  Abolition  of  the  death  penalty. 

6.  Abolition  of  the  military  and  naval  courts. 


(4)  Constitution  of  the  Family  in  conformity  with  Individual 

Rights 

1.  Abrogation  of  every  law  establishing  the  civil  inferiority  of 
women  and  natural  or  adulterine  children. 

2.  Most   liberal    legislation    on    divorce.      A    law    sanctioning 
inquiry  into  paternity. 


(5)  Civic  and  Technical  Education 

1.  Education  to  be  free  of  charge  at  every  stage. 

2.  Maintenance  of  the  children  in  elementary  schools  at  the 
expense  of  the  public  bodies. 

3.  For  secondary  and  higher  education,  the  community  to  pay 
for  those  of  the  children  who  on  examination  are  pronounced 
fit  usefully  to  continue  their  studies. 

4.  Creation  of  a  popular  higher  education. 

5.  State    monopoly   of    education    at    the    three   stages;    as    a 
means  towards  this,  all  members  of  the  regular  and  secular  clergy 
to  be  forbidden  to  open  and  teach  in  a  school. 

(6)  General  recasting  of  the  System  of  Taxation  upon 
Principles  of  Social  Solidarity 

1.  Abolition  of  every  tax  on  articles  of  consumption  which 
are  primary  necessaries,  and  of  the  four  direct  contributions ; 1 
accessorily,  relief  from  taxation  of  all  small  plots  of  land  and 
small  professional  businesses.2 

2.  Progressive  income-tax,  levied  on  each  person's  income  as 
a  whole,  in  all  cases  where  it  exceeds  3,000  francs  (£120). 

3.  Progressive  tax  on   inheritances,   the   scale  of  progression 
being    calculated    with    reference    both    to    the    amount    of    the 
inheritance    and    the    degree    of    remoteness    of    the    relation- 
ship. 

4.  The  State  to  be  empowered  to  seek  a  part  of  the  revenue 
which  it  requires  from  certain  monopolies. 

1  Personal  tax  ;  tax  on  movables  ;  tax  on  land  ;  door  and  window  tax. 
*  A  license  to  trade  is  required  for  many  businesses  in  France. 


288  APPENDIX 


(7)  Legal  Protection  and  Regulation  of  Labor  in  Industry, 
Commerce,  and  Agriculture 

1.  One  day's  rest  per  week,  or  prohibition  of  employers  to 
exact  work  more  than  six  days  in  seven. 

2.  Limitation  of  the  working-day  to  eight  hours;  as  a  means 
towards  this,  vote  of  every   regulation  diminishing  the  length 
of  the  working-day. 

3.  Prohibition  of  the  employment  of  children  under  fourteen ; 
half-time  system  for  young  persons,  productive  labor  being  com- 
bined with  instruction  and  education. 

4.  Prohibition  of  night-work  for  women  and  young  persons. 
Prohibition  of  night-work  for  adult  workers  of  all  categories  and 
in  all  industries  where  night-work  is  not  absolutely  necessary. 

5.  Legislation  to  protect  home-workers. 

6.  Prohibition  of  piece-work  and  of  truck.    Legal  recognition 
of  blacklisting. 

7.  Scales  of  rates  forming  a  minimum  wage  to  be  fixed  by 
agreement  between  municipalities  and  the  working-class  corpora- 
tions of  industry,  commerce,  and  agriculture. 

8.  Employers  to  be  forbidden  to  make  deductions  from  wages, 
as   fines   or  otherwise.     Workers   to  assist   in   framing  special 
rules  for  workshops. 

9.  Inspection    of    workshops,    mills,    factories,    mines,    yards, 
public  services,  shops,  etc.,  shall  be  carried  out  with  reference 
to  the  conditions   of   work,  hygiene,  and  safety,  by  inspectors 
elected  by  the  workmen's  unions,  in  concurrence  with  the  State 
inspectors. 

10.  Extension  of  the  industrial  arbitration  courts  to  all  wage- 
workers  of  industry,  commerce,  and  agriculture. 

11.  Convict   labor   to   be   treated   as   a    State   monopoly;    the 
charge  for  all  work  done  shall  be  the  wage  normally  paid  to 
trade-unionist  workers. 

12.  Women  to  be  forbidden  by  law  to  work  for  six  weeks 
before  confinement  and  for  six  weeks  after. 

(8)  Social  Insurance  against  all  Natural  and  Economic  Risks 

1.  Organization  by  the  nation  of  a  system  of  social  insurance, 
applying  to  the  whole  mass  of  industrial,  commercial,  and  agri- 
cultural workers,  against  the  risks  of  sickness,  accident,  disability, 
old  age,  and  unemployment. 

2.  The    insurance    funds    to    be    found    without    drawing    on 
wages;  as  a  means  towards  this,  limitation  of  the  contribution 
drawn  from  the  wage-workers  to  a  third  of  the  total  contribution, 
the   two   other   thirds   to    be   provided   by   the    State   and   the 
employers. 

3.  The  law  on  workmen's  accidents  to  be  improved  and  applied 
without  distinction  or  nationality. 

4.  The  workers  to  take  part  in  the  control  and  administration 
of  the  insurance  system. 


APPENDIX  289 


(9)  Extension  of  the  Domain  and  Public  Services,  Industrial 
and  Agricultural,  of  State,  Department,  and  Commune 

1.  Nationalization   of   railways,   mines,   the   Bank  of   France, 
insurance,  the  sugar  refineries  and  sugar  factories,  the  distilleries, 
and  the  great  milling  establishments. 

2.  Organization     of     public     employment-registries     for     the 
workers,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Bourses  du  Travail  and  the 
workmen's  organizations ;  and  abolition  of  the  private  registries. 

3.  State  organization  of  agricultural  banks. 

4.  Grants  to  rural  communes  to  assist  them  to  purchase  agri- 
cultural machinery  collectively,   to  acquire   communal   domains, 
worked  under  the  control  of  the  communes  by  unions  of  rural 
laborers,  and  to  establish  depots  and  entrepots. 

5.  Organization    of    communal    services    for    lighting,    water, 
common  transport,  construction,  and  public  management  of  cheap 
dwellings. 

6.  Democratic  administration  of  the  public  services,  national 
and  communal ;  organizations  of  workers  to  take  part  in  their 
administration  and  control ;  all  wage-earners  in  all  public  services 
to  have  the  right  of  forming  trade-unions. 

7.  National    and    communal    service    of    public    health,    and 
strengthening  of  the  laws  which  protect  it — those  on  unhealthy 
dwellings,  etc. 

(10)  Policy  of  International  Peace  and  Adaptation  of  the 
Military  Organisation  to  the  Defense  of  the  Country 

1.  Substitution    of    a    militia    for    the    standing    Army,    and 
adoption  of  every  measure,  such  as  reductions  of  military  service, 
leading  up  to  it. 

2.  Remodeling   and    mitigation    of    the    military    penal    code ; 
abolition  of  disciplinary  corps,  and  prohibition  of  the  prolonga- 
tion of  military  service  by  way  of  penalty. 

3.  Renunciation    of    all   offensive    war,    no    matter    what    its 
pretext. 

4.  Renunciation  of  every  alliance  not  aimed  exclusively  at  the 
maintenance  of  peace. 

5.  Renunciation  of  Colonial  military  expeditions ;   and  in  the 
present  Colonies  or  Protectorates,  withdrawn  from  the  influence 
of  missionaries  and  the  military  regime,  development  of  institu- 
tions to  protect  the  natives. 


3.  BASIS  OF  THE  UNITED  SOCIALIST  PARTY  OF 
FRANCE 

Adopted  January  13,  1905 

THE  representatives  of  the  various  Socialistic  organizations  of 
France:   the  revolutionary  Socialist  Labor  Party,  the   Socialist 


290  APPENDIX 

Party  of  France,  the  French  Socialist  Party,  the  independent 
federations  of  Bouches-du-Rhone,  of  Bretagne,  of  Herault,  of 
the  Somme,  and  of  1'Yonne,  commanded  by  their  respective  par- 
ties and  federations  to  form  a  union  upon  the  basis  indicated 
by  the  International  Congress  of  Amsterdam,  declare  that  the 
action  of  a  unified  party  should  be  based  upon  the  principles 
established  by  the  International  Congress,  especially  those  held 
in  France  in  1900  and  Amsterdam  in  1904. 

The  divergence  of  views  and  the  various  interpretations  of 
the  tactics  of  the  Socialists  which  have  prevailed  up  to  the 
present  moment  have  been  due  to  circumstances  peculiar  to 
France  and  to  the  absence  of  a  general  party  organization. 

The  delegates  declare  their  common  desire  to  form  a  party 
based  upon  the  class  war  which,  at  the  same  time,  will  utilize 
to  its  profit  the  struggles  of  the  laboring  classes  and  unite  their 
action  with  that  of  a  political  party  organized  for  the  defense 
of  the  rights  of  the  proletariat,  whose  interests  will  always  rest 
in  a  party  fundamentally  and  irreconcilably  opposed  to  all  the 
bourgeois  classes  and  to  the  state  which  is  their  instrument. 

Therefore  the  delegates  declare  that  their  respective  organiza- 
tions are  prepared  to  collaborate  immediately  in  this  work  of 
the  unification  of  all  the  Socialistic  forces  in  France,  upon  the 
following  basis,  unanimously  adopted : 

1.  The  Socialist  Party  is  a  class  party  which  has  for  its  aim 
the  socialization  of  the  means  of  production  and  exchange,  that 
is  to   say,   to   transform  the  present  capitalistic  society   into   a 
collective  or  communistic  society  by  means  of  the  political  and 
economic   organization  of  the  proletariat.     By  its  aims,  by  its 
ideals,  by  the  power  which  it  employs,  the  Socialist  Party,  always 
seeking    to    realize    the    immediate    reforms    demanded    by    the 
working  class,  is  not  a  party  of  reforms,  but  a  party  of  class 
war  and  revolution. 

2.  The  members  of  Parliament  elected  by  the  party  form  a 
unique  group  opposed  to  all  the  factions  of  the  bourgeois  parties. 
The  Socialist  group  in  Parliament  must  refuse  to  sustain  all  of 
those  means  which  assure  the  domination  of  the  bourgeoisie  in 
government   and   their   maintenance   in   power :    must   therefore 
refuse   to   vote    for   military   appropriations,    appropriations    for 
colonial  conquest,  secret  funds,  and  the  budget. 

Even  in  the  most  exceptional  circumstances  the  Socialist  mem- 
bers must  not  pledge  the  party  without  its  consent. 

In  Parliament  the  Socialist  group  must  consecrate  itself  to 
defending  and  extending  the  political  liberties  and  rights  of 
the  working  classes  and  to  the  realization  of  those  reforms  which 
ameliorate  the  conditions  of  life  in  the  struggle  for  existence 
of  the  working  class. 

The  deputies  should  always  hold  themselves  at  the  disposition 
of  the  party,  giving  themselves  to  the  general  propaganda,  the 
organization  of  the  proletariat,  and  constantly  working  toward 
the  ultimate  goal  of  Socialism. 

3.  Every  member   of  the   legislature  individually,   as  well   as 


APPENDIX  291 

each  militant  Socialist,  is  subject  to  the  control  of  his  federa- 
tion; all  of  the  officials  in  all  of  the  groups  are  subject  to  the 
central  organization.  In  every  case  the  national  congress  has 
the  final  jurisdiction  over  all  party  matters. 

4.  There  shall  be  complete  freedom  of  discussion  in  the  press 
concerning  questions  of  principle  and  policy,  but  the  conduct  of 
all  the  Socialist  publications  must  be  strictly  in  accord  with  the 
decisions  of  the   national   congress   as   interpreted  by   the   ex- 
ecutive committee   of   the  party.     Journals   which   are   or   may 
become  the  property  of  the  party,  either  of  the  national  party 
or  of  the  federations,  will  naturally  be  placed  under  the  manage- 
ment  of   authorities   permanently   established    for   that   purpose 
by  the  party  or  the   federations.     Journals   which  are  not  the 
property  of   the  party,   but  proclaim   themselves   as   Socialistic, 
must   conform    strictly   to    the    resolutions    of    the   congress    as 
interpreted   by   the    proper   party    authorities,    and    they   should 
insert  all   the   official   communications    of   the   party   and   party 
notices,  as  they  may  be  requested  to  do.    The  central  committee 
of  the  party  may  remind  such  journals  of  the  policies  of  the 
party,  and  if  they  are  recalcitrant  may  propose  to  the  congress 
that  all  intercourse  between  them  and  the  party  be  broken. 

5.  Members  of  Parliament  shall  not  be  appointed  members  of 
the   central   committee,   but   they   shall   be   represented   on   the 
central   committee   by   a    committee   equal  to   one-tenth    of   the 
number  of  delegates,  and  in  no  case  shall  their  representation 
be  less  than  five.    The  Federation  shall  not  appoint  as  delegates 
to  the   Central   Committee  "  militants "  who   reside  within  the 
limits  of  the  Federation. 

6.  The  party  will  take  measures  for  insuring,  on  the  part  of 
the  officials,  respect  for  the  mandates  of  the  party,  and  will  fix 
the  amount  of  their  assessment. 

7.  A  congress  charged  with  the  definite  organization  of  the  party 
will  be  convened  as  soon  as  possible  upon  the  basis  of  propor- 
tional representation  fixed,  first  upon  the  number  of  members 
paying  dues,  and  second  upon  the  number  of  votes  cast  in  the 
general  elections  of  1902. 


III.  GERMANY 

i.  POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN  GERMANY 

THERE  are  a  great  many  "  fractions  "  in  German  politics.  But, 
following  the  Continental  custom,  they  are  all  grouped  into  three 
divisions,  the  Left  or  Radical,  Right  or  Conservative,  and  the 
Center.  In  Germany  the  Center  is  the  Catholic  or  Clerical  Party. 
The  leading  groups  are  as  follows : 

1.  Conservative. — The   "  German   Conservatives "   are   the   old 
tories ;  the  "  Free  Conservatives "  profess,  but  rarely  show,  a 
tendency  toward  liberal  ideas,  although  they  have,  at  intervals, 
opposed  ministerial  measures.     The  Conservatives  are   for  the 
Government  (Regierung)  first,  last,  and  all  the  time.    They  were 
a   powerful    factor   under    Bismarck  and   docile  in   his   hands. 
Since  his  day  they  have  suffered  many  defeats  because  of  their 
reactionary  policy.     But  the  group  still  is  the   Kaiser's  party, 
the  stronghold  of  modern  medievalism,  opposed  to  radical  re- 
forms, and  adhering  to  "  the  grace  of  God  "  policy  of  monarch- 
ism.     Economically  they  are  junker  and   "  big  business."     The 
anti-Socialist   laws   were   the   expression   of   their   ideas   as   to 
Socialism  and  the  way  to  quench  it. 

2.  National  Liberal. — This  party  is  not  liberal,  in  the  sense 
that  England   or  America  knows  liberalism.     It  is  really  only 
a  less  conservative  party  than  the  extreme  Right,  although  it 
began  as  the  brilliant  Progressist  Party  of  the  early  '6o's.     It 
was  triumphant  in  the  Prussian  Diet  until  Bismarck  shattered 
it  on  his  war  policy.    In  the  first  Reichstag  it  had  116  members, 
nearly  one-third  of  the  whole.     But  Bismarck  needed   it,   got 
it,  and  left  it  quite  as  conservative  as  he  wished.     It  voted  for 
the  anti-Socialist  laws  and  for  state  insurance. 

3.  Progressive    (Freisinnige,   literally,   "free-minded"). — This 
faction  is  a  cession   from  the  old  Progressist  Party  of  which 
Lassalle  was  a  member  for  a  few  months.     They  are  Radicals 
of  a  very  moderate  type,  and  are  opposed  to  the  junker  bu- 
reaucracy.     There   are   two   wings — the    People's    Party    (Frei- 
sinnige   Volkspartei)    and  the    Progressive   Union    (Freisinnige 
V  ereinigung) .     It  is  a  constitutional  party,  and  has  counted  in 
its  ranks  such  eminent  scholars  as  Professor  Virchow  and  Pro- 
fessor Theodor   Mommsen.     They  are  in   favor  of   ministerial 
responsibility,  are  free  traders  of  the  Manchester  type,  opposed 
to  state  intervention  and  state  insurance,  but  favor  factory  in- 
spection, sanitation,  and  other  social  legislation.     They  are  in 
favor  of  freedom  in  religion,  trade,  and  education,  and  espouse 
ballot  reform.     They  have  a  well-organized  party,  but  do  not 

293 


APPENDIX  293 

seem  effective  in  winning  elections.  They  share,  to  some  degree, 
with  the  Social  Democrats  the  prejudice  of  the  religious  folk 
against  free-thinking  and  religious  latitudinarianism.  It  is  the 
middle-class  party  of  protest  against  bureaucracy. 

4.  The  Center,  or  Catholic  Party,  is  a  homogeneous,  isolated, 
well-disciplined,  inflexible  group,  dominated  by  loyalty  to  their 
religion.    Whenever  they  have  co-operated  with  the  government 
it  has  been  in  return  for  favors  shown.    The  ranks  of  this  party 
were  closed  by  the  Culturkampf,  which  resulted  in  the  expulsion 
of  the  Jesuit  orders  and  the  separation  of  the  elementary  schools 
from   the   Church.     The   party   is   reactionary   in   politics    and 
economics. 

5.  Anti-Semitic. — The   name   discloses   the   ideals   of   a   party 
inspired  by  dread  and  hatred  of  an  element  that  comprises  less 
than   1.5  per  cent,  of  the  population,  and  whose  political  dis- 
abilities were  not  all  removed  until   1850  in   Prussia  and   1869 
in  Mecklenburg.    This  party  was  formed  in  1880,  largely  through 
the  agitation  of  the  Court  Chaplain,  Pastor  Stocker,  whose  dia- 
tribes were  peculiarly  effective  in  Berlin,  where  some  very  dis- 
graceful scenes  were  enacted  by  members  of  this  party. 

6.  Independent  groups  are  formed  by  the  various  nationalities 
that  are  under  subjection  to  German  dominance.     These  are  the 
Danish,  Hannoverian,  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  Polish  groups.    They 
usually  are  grouped  with  the  Center. 

7.  There  are  also  a  number  of  independent  members  in  the 
Reichstag.     They  adhere  loosely  to   the  larger  groups,   but  as 
a  rule  merit  the  name  given  them — Wilden,  "  wild  ones." 

The  accompanying  table  (p.  297)  shows  the  distribution  of 
seats  in  the  Reichstag,  for  the  past  thirty  years. 


2.  SOME  MODERN  GERMAN  ELECTION  LAWS 
Analysis  of  the  New  Election  Law  of  Saxony 

A.  One  vote — every  male  25  years  of  age. 

B.  Two  votes,  every  male,  as  follows : 

1.  Those  who  have  an  annual  income  of  over  1,600  marks 

($400). 

2.  Those   who   hold   public   office  or   a  permanent  private 

position  with  an  annual  income  of  over  1,400  marks 
($350). 

3.  Those  who  are  eligible  to  vote  for  Landskulturrat  (Agri- 

cultural Board)  or  Gewerbskammer  (Chamber  of 
Commerce)  and  from  their  business  have  an  income 
of  over  1,400  marks.  (This  includes  merchants,  land- 
owners, and  manufacturers.) 

4.  Those  who  are  owners  or  beneficiaries  of  property  in 

the  kingdom  from  which  they  have  an  income  of  1,250 
marks  ($312.50)  a  year,  and  upon  which  at  least  100 
tax  units  are  assessed. 


294  APPENDIX 

5.  Those  who   own,  or  are  beneficiaries   of,   land  in  the 

kingdom,  to  the  extent  of  at  least  2  hectares,  devoted 
to  agriculture,  or  forestry,  or  horticulture,  or  more 
than  one-half  hectare  devoted  to  gardening  or  wine 
culture. 

6.  Those  who  have  conducted  such  professional  studies  as 

entitle  them  to  the  one-year  volunteer  military  service. 

C.  The  following  have  three  votes  : 

1.  Those  who  have  an  income  of  over  2,200  marks  ($550). 

2.  Those  in  division  B,  2  and  3,  who  have  an  income  from 

office  or  position  of  over  1,900  marks  ($475). 

3.  Those  who  are  not  in  private  or  public  service  and  have 

a  professional  income  of  over  1,900  marks.  (This 
includes  lawyers,  physicians,  artists,  engineers,  pub- 
licists, authors,  professors.) 

4.  Those  in  B,  4,  whose  income  is  over  1,600  marks  ($400). 

5.  Those  in  B,  5,  with  4  hectares  devoted  to  agriculture, 

etc.,  and  i  hectare  to  gardening  or  wine  culture. 

D.  The  following  have  four  votes : 

1.  Those  who  have  an  income  of  2,800  marks  ($700). 

2.  Those  in  B,  2  and  3,  or  in  C,  3,  with  an  income  over 

2,500  marks  ($625). 

3.  Those  in  B,  4,  with  an  annual  income  of  over  2,200 

marks  ($5So). 

4.  Those  in  B,  5,  with  8  hectares  devoted  to  agriculture  or 

2  hectares  devoted  to  gardening  or  wine  culture. 

E.  Voters  over  50  years  old  have  an  extra  vote  (Alters-stimme), 

but  no  voter  is  allowed  over  four  votes. 

Sachsen-Altenburg,  in  1908-9,  modified  its  election  laws  as 
follows :  The  legislature  is  composed  of  9  representatives  elected 
by  the  cities ;  12  by  the  rural  districts ;  7  by  the  highest  tax- 
payers; one  each  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Board  of 
Agriculture,  the  Craft  guilds  (Handwerks-kammer),  and  the 
Labor  Council  (Arbeiter-kammer).  The  vigorous  protest  of  the 
Social  Democrats  did  not  avail  against  the  passage  of  this  law. 

Saxe- Weimar  recently  modified  its  election  law  as  follows : 
All  citizens  of  communes  were  given  the  right  to  vote.  The 
great  feudal  estates  (165  persons  in  1009)  elect  5  representatives 
to  the  Diet;  the  rest  of  the  highest  taxpayers,  i.e.,  those  who 
have  a  taxable  income  of  over  3,000  marks,  elect  5.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Jena  elects  i  member,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  I, 
the  Handwerks-kammer  (Craft  Guilds)  I,  Landwirthschaft- 
kammer  (Agricultural  Board)  i,  the  Arbeitskammer  (Labor 
Council)  i.  There  are  38  members  in  the  Diet:  the  remaining 
23  are  elected  at  large. 


APPENDIX 


295 


3.  STATISTICAL  TABLES 
STATE  INSURANCE  IN  GERMANY 

Industrial  Insurance  in  Germany,  1908. 

Sick  benefits :  Number  insured 13,189,599 

Men  9,880,541 

Women 3,309,058 

Income    365,994,000  marks 

Outlay 331,049,900 

Accident  Insurance :  Number  insured 23,674,000 

Men  14,795,400 

Women    8,878,600 

Income   207,550,500  marks 

Outlay 157,884,700       " 

Old- Age  Pensions :  Number  insured 15,226,000 

Men  10,554,000 

Women    4,672,000 

Income    285,882,000  marks 

Outlay    181,476,800       " 

From  1885  to  1908  a  total  of  9,791,376,100  marks  ($2,447,844,- 
025)  was  paid  out  in  industrial  insurance.  (Compiled  from 
Statistisches  Jahrbuch  des  Deutschen  Reiches.) 


LABOR  UNIONS  IN  GERMANY 


Name  of  Union 

Membership 

No.  of  Unions 

Amount  in 
Treasury—  Marks 

Social  Democratic  . 
Hirsh-Duncker  .... 
Christian  

1908 

1909 

1908 

1909 

1908 

1909 

1,831,73' 
105,633 
264,519 
16,507 
47,532 
615,873 

1,892,568 
108,028 
280,061 

9,957 
53>849 
654,240 

11,024 
2,095 

3,212 
69 

79 

11.7*5 
2,102 
3,856 
9i 
85 

40,839,791 
4,210,413 
4,513.409 
57,786 
386,305 
1,357,802 

43,743,793 
4.372.49S 
5,365,338 
24,858 
437,602 
1,655,325 

"Yellow"    

Independent  *  

*  This  is  a  nondescript  group  of  local  organizations,  containing  (1909) 
56,183  Poles,  as  •well  as  the  organization  of  railwaymen,  telegraph  operators, 
postal  employees,  all  in  the  government  sevice,  and  organized  as  friendly 
societies  rather  than  as  fighting  bodies.  Government  employees  are  not 
supposed  to  participate  in  "Unionism."  Compiled  from  Statistisches  Jahr- 
buch des  Deutschen  Reiches. 


296 


APPENDIX 

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APPENDIX 


297 


PARTY  REPRESENTATION  IN  THE  REICHSTAG 
THE  YEARS  ARE  THOSE  OF  GENERAL  ELECTIONS — EXCEPTING  1911 


Party  or  Faction, 

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106 

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7 

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Danes  

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United    Progress-")  ,_. 
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groups  (Radicals)  f  o' 
People's  Party  £. 
"Wild  "Liberals..]  <" 

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47 

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(These  groups  are  those  given  in  'K.^Tchn^r'&DeutscherReichstaff,^. 


298  APPENDIX 

4.  PROGRAM  OF  THE  GERMAN  SOCIAL  DEMOCRATIC 

PARTY 

Adopted  at  Erfurt,  1891 

THE  economic  development  of  bourgeois  society  leads  by  nat- 
ural necessity  to  the  downfall  of  the  small  industry,  whose 
foundation  is  formed  by  the  worker's  private  ownership  of  his 
means  of  production.  It  separates  the  worker  from  his  means 
of  production,  and  converts  him  into  a  propertyless  proletarian, 
while  the  means  of  production  become  the  monopoly  of  a  rela- 
tively small  number  of  capitalists  and  large  landowners. 

Hand-in-hand  with  this  monopolization  of  the  means  of  pro- 
duction goes  the  displacement  of  the  dispersed  small  industries 
by  colossal  great  industries,  the  development  of  the  tool  into 
the  machine,  and  a  gigantic  growth  in  the  productivity  of  human 
labor.  But  all  the  advantages  of  this  transformation  are 
monopolized  by  capitalists  and  large  landowners.  For  the 
proletariat  and  the  declining  intermediate  classes — petty  bour- 
goisie  and  peasants — it  means  a  growing  augmentation  of  the 
insecurity  of  their  existence,  of  misery,  oppression,  enslavement, 
debasement,  and  exploitation. 

Ever  greater  grows  the  number  of  proletarians,  ever  more 
enormous  the  army  of  surplus  workers,  ever  sharper  the  oppo- 
sition between  exploiters  and  exploited,  ever  bitterer  the 
class-war  between  bourgeoisie  and  proletariat,  which  divides 
modern  society  into  two  hostile  camps,  and  is  the  common 
hall-mark  of  all  industrial  countries. 

The  gulf  between  the  propertied  and  the  propertyless  is 
further  widened  through  the  crises,  founded  in  the  essence  of 
the  capitalistic  method  of  production,  which  constantly  become 
more  comprehensive  and  more  devastating,  which  elevate  general 
insecurity  to  the  normal  condition  of  society,  and  which  prove 
that  the  powers  of  production  of  contemporary  society  have 
grown  beyond  measure,  and  that  private  ownership  of  the 
means  of  production  has  become  incompatible  with  their  appli- 
cation to  their  objects  and  their  full  development. 

Private  ownership  of  the  means  of  production,  which  was 
formerly  the  means  of  securing  to  the  producer  the  ownership 
of  his  product,  has  to-day  become  the  means  of  expropriating 
peasants,  manual  workers,  and  small  traders,  and  enabling  the 
non-workers — capitalists  and  large  landowners — to  own  the 
product  of  the  workers.  Only  the  transformation  of  capitalistic 
private  ownership  of  the  means  of  production — the  soil,  mines, 
raw  materials,  tools,  machines,  and  means  of  transport — into 
social  ownership  and  the  transformation  of  production  of  goods 
for  sale  into  Socialistic  production  managed  for  and  through 
society,  can  bring  it  about,  that  the  great  industry  and  the 
steadily  growing  productive  capacity  of  social  labor  shall  for 
the  hitherto  exploited  classes  be  changed  from  a  source  of 


APPENDIX  299 

misery  and  oppression  to  a  source  of  the  highest  welfare  and 
of  all-round  harmonious  perfection. 

This  social  transformation  means  the  emancipation  not  only 
of  the  proletariat,  but  of  the  whole  human  race  which  suffers 
under  the  conditions  of  to-day.  But  it  can  only  be  the  work 
of  the  working-class,  because  all  the  other  classes,  in  spite  of 
mutually  conflicting  interests,  take  their  stand  on  the  basis  of 
private  ownership  of  the  means  of  production,  and  have  as 
their  common  object  the  preservation  of  the  principles  of  con- 
temporary society. 

The  battle  of  the  working-class  against  capitalistic  exploitation 
is  necessarily  a  political  battle.  The  working-class  cannot  carry 
on  its  economic  battles  or  develop  its  economic  organization 
without  political  rights.  It  cannot  effect  the  passing  of  the 
means  of  production  into  the  ownership  of  the  community  with- 
out acquiring  political  power. 

To  shape  this  battle  of  the  working-class  into  a  conscious 
and  united  effort,  and  to  show  it  its  naturally  necessary  end,  is 
the  object  of  the  Social  Democratic  Party. 

The  interests  of  the  working-class  are  the  same  in  all  lands 
with  capitalistic  methods  of  production.  With  the  expansion 
of  world-transport  and  production  for  the  world-market  the 
state  of  the  workers  in  any  one  country  becomes  constantly 
more  dependent  on  the  state  of  the  workers  in  other  countries. 
The  emancipation  of  the  working-class  is  thus  a  task  in  which 
the  workers  of  all  civilized  countries  are  concerned  in  a  like 
degree.  Conscious  of  this,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  of 
Germany  feels  and  declares  itself  one  with  the  class-conscious 
workers  of  all  other  lands. 

The  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Germany  fights  thus  not 
for  new  class-privileges  and  exceptional  rights,  but  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  class-domination  and  of  the  classes  themselves,  and 
for  the  equal  rights  and  equal  obligations  of  all,  without  dis- 
tinction of  sex  and  parentage.  Setting  out  from  these  views, 
it  combats  in  contemporary  society  not  merely  the  exploitation 
and  oppression  of  the  wage-workers,  but  every  kind  of  exploita- 
tion and  oppression,  whether  directed  against  a  class,  a  party, 
a  sex,  or  a  race. 

Setting  out  from  these  principles  the  Social  Democratic  Party 
of  Germany  demands  immediately — 

1.  Universal  equal  direct   suffrage  and   franchise,  with   direct 
ballot,  for  all  members  of  the  Empire  over  twenty  years  of  age, 
without  distinction  of  sex,  for  all  elections  and  acts  of  voting. 
Proportional    representation ;    and   until   this    is    introduced,    re- 
division  of  the  constituencies  by  law  according  to  the  numbers 
of  population.     A  new  Legislature  every  two  years.     Fixing  of 
elections    and    acts   of   voting   for   a   legal   holiday.     Indemnity 
for  the  elected  representatives.     Removal  of  every  curtailment 
of  political  rights  except  in  case  of  tutelage. 

2.  Direct  legislation  by  the  people  by  means  of  the  initiative 
and  referendum.    Self-determination  and  self-government  of  the 


300  APPENDIX 

people  in  empire,  state,  province,  and  commune.  Authorities 
to  be  elected  by  the  people;  to  be  responsible  and  bound.  Taxes 
to  be  voted  annually. 

3.  Education  of  all  to  be  capable  of  bearing  arms.     Armed 
nation  instead  of  standing  army.     Decision  of  war  and  peace 
by  the  representatives  of  the  people.     Settlement  of  all  inter- 
national disputes  by  the  method  of  arbitration. 

4.  Abolition   of  all   laws  which   curtail   or   suppress  the   free 
expression  of  opinion  and  the  right  of  association  and  assembly. 

5.  Abolition  of   all  laws   which  are  prejudicial   to  women  in 
their  relations  to  men  in  public  or  private  law. 

6.  Declaration  that  religion  is  a  private  matter.     Abolition  of 
all  contributions  from  public  funds  to  ecclesiastical  and  religious 
objects.     Ecclesiastical    and    religious    communities    are    to    be 
treated  as  private  associations,  which  manage  their  affairs  quite 
independently. 

7.  Secularization    of    education.      Compulsory    attendance    of 
public  primary  schools.     No  charges  to  be  made  for  instruction, 
school  requisites,  and  maintenance,  in  the  public  primary  schools ; 
nor   in   the   higher   educational    institutions    for   those   students, 
male  and  female,  who  in  virtue  of  their  capacities  are  considered 
fit  for  further  training. 

8.  No  charge  to  be  made  for  the  administration  of  the  law, 
or  for  legal  assistance.     Judgment  by  popularly  elected  judges. 
Appeal  in  criminal  cases.     Indemnification  of  innocent  persons 
prosecuted,   arrested,   or   condemned.     Abolition    of    the   death- 
penalty. 

9.  No  charges  to  be  made  for  medical  attendance,  including 
midwifery   and   medicine.     No   charges   to   be   made    for   death 
certificates. 

10.  Graduated  taxes  on  income  and  property,  to  meet  all 
public  expenses  as  far  as  these  are  to  be  covered  by  taxation. 
Obligatory  self-assessment.    A  tax  on  inheritance,  graduated 
according  to  the  size  of  the  inheritance  and  the  degree  of  kin- 
ship.  Abolition  of  all  indirect  taxes,  customs,  and  other  polit- 
ico-economic measures  which   sacrifice   the   interests   of   the 
whole  community  to  the  interests  of  a  favored  minority. 

For  the  protection  of  the  working-class  the  Social  Democratic 
Party  of  Germany  demands  immediately — 

I.  An  effective  national  and  international  legislation  for  the 
protection  of  workmen  on  the  following  basis: 

(a)  Fixing   of   a   normal    working-day   with   a    maximum   of 
eight  hours. 

(b)  Prohibition  of  industrial  work  for  children  under  four- 
teen years. 

(c)  Prohibition  of  night-work,   except   for  such  branches  of 
industry  as,  in  accordance  with  their  nature,  require  night-work, 
for  technical  reasons,  or  reasons  of  public  welfare. 

(d)  An  uninterrupted  rest  of  at  least  thirty-six  hours  in  every 
week  for  every  worker. 

(e)  Prohibition  of  the  truck  system. 


APPENDIX  301 

2.  Inspection    of    all    industrial    businesses,    investigation    and 
regulation  of  labor  relations  in  town  and  country  by  an  Imperial 
Department  of  Labor,  district  labor  departments,  and  chambers 
of  labor.    Thorough  industrial  hygiene. 

3.  Legal    equalization    of    agricultural    laborers    and    domestic 
servants  with  industrial  workers;  removal  of  the  special  regula- 
tions affecting  servants. 

4.  Assurance  of  the  right  of  combination. 

5.  Workmen's  insurance  to  be  taken  over  bodily  by  the  Empire ; 
and   the    workers   to   have   an   influential   share   in   its  admin- 
istration. 

6.  Separation  of  the  Churches  and  the  State, 
(a)  Suppression  of  the  grant  for  public  worship. 

(&)  Philosophic  or  religious  associations  to  be  civil  persons 
at  law. 

7.  Revision  of  sections  in  the  Civil  Code  concerning  marriage 
and  the  paternal  authority. 

(a)  Civil  equality  of  the  sexes,  and  of  children,  whether 
natural  or  legitimate. 

(fc)  Revision  of  the  divorce  laws,  maintaining  the  husband's 
liability  to  support  the  wife  or  the  children. 

(c)  Inquiry  into  paternity  to  be  legalized. 

(d)  Protective  measures  in   favor  of  children  materially  or 
morally  abandoned. 


5.  COMMUNAL  PROGRAM  OF  THE  BAVARIAN  SOCIAL 
DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 

INASMUCH  as  our  communes  are  hindered  in  the  fulfilment  of 
their  economic  and  political  duties  by  reactionary  laws,  we  de- 
mand: 

A. — OF  THE  STATE: 

1.  A  change   of   the   municipal   code,   granting  genuine   local 
autonomy.    A  single  representative  chamber,  a  four-year  term  of 
office,    one-half    retiring    every    two    years.     Universal    adult 
suffrage,  secret  ballot,  the  franchise  not  to  be  denied  to  those 
receiving  public  aid. 

2.  Radical  tax  reform,  through  the  establishing  of  a  uniform, 
progressive  income  and  property  tax,  collected  by  the  communes ; 
local  taxes  to  be  assessed  upon  increment  value;  and  prohibition 
of  all  taxes  upon  the  necessaries  of  life. 

3.  A  common-school  law  providing  universal  public  education 
free  from  all  religious  bias,  compulsory  up  to  fourteen  years  of 
age.     Obligatory  secondary  schools,  the  inclusion  of  social  and 
political  economy  in  their  curricula ;  the  defraying  of  expenses  of 
pupils  by  the  state.     Substitution  of  professional  supervision  of 
schools  for  clerical  supervision. 

4.  Enactment  of  a   domiciliary  law,  in  place  of  the  present 


302  APPENDIX 

inadequate  laws,  providing  for  all  the  necessary  sanitary  and 
socio-political  demands.  Extending  the  municipalities'  right  of 
condemnation  to  the  extent  that  towns  may  erect  houses  and 
schools,  open  streets,  and  make  all  necessary  public  improve- 
ments demanded  by  the  public  welfare. 

5.  Passage  of  a  sanitary  code.    Regulation  of  sanitation  in  the 
public    interests.     Free   medical    attendance    at   births.      Public 
nurseries. 

6.  The   administration    of   public   charities   by   the   local    au- 
thorities. 

B. — OF  THE  COMMUNE  WE  DEMAND: 

1.  Abolishing  all  taxes  upon  the  rights  of  citizenship  and  of 
residence.     Granting  of   full   franchise  rights  after  one  year's 
residence. 

2.  Elections  to  be  held  on  a  holiday  or  on  Sunday. 

3.  Pensions  for  communal  employees. 

4.  The  cost  of  local  administration  to  be  borne  by  local  prop- 
erty or  from  additions  to  the  direct  state  taxes.     Abolishing  of 
all  indirect  taxes.     Denial  of  all  public  aid  to  the  Church. 

5.  All  public  services  to  be  conducted  by  the  commune ;  these 
to  be  considered  as  public  conveniences  and  necessities,  and  not 
to  serve  a  mere  pecuniary  interest,  but  to  be  run  as  the  public 
welfare    demands.      Rational    development    of    existing    water- 
power,  means  of  communication,  etc. 

6.  Stipulating,  in  every  contract  for  municipal  work,  the  wages 
to  be  paid,  and  other  conditions  of  labor,  such  arrangements  to 
be  made   with   the   labor  organizations ;    the    right   to   organize 
into  unions  not  to  be  denied  to  laborers  and  municipal  employees 
and  officers.    Abolishing  of  strike  clause  in  contracts  for  public 
works.      Prohibition    of    the    sub-contractor    system.      Securing 
wages  of  workmen  by  bonds.    Forbidding  municipal  officers  par- 
ticipating in  any  business  that  will  bring  them  into  contract  rela- 
tions with  the  municipality. 

7.  Development  of  a  public  school  system  which  shall  be  non- 
sectarian  and  free  to  all.     Restricting  the  number  of  pupils  in 
the    classes    as    far    as    practical.      Furnishing    free    meals    and 
clothing  to  needy  school  children ;  such  service  not  to  be  counted 
as   public   charity.     Establishing   continuation   schools    for  both 
sexes,  and  schools  for  backward  children.    Establishing  of  public 
reading-rooms  and  free  public  libraries. 

8.  The  advancement  of  public  housing  plans.     The  purchasing 
of  large  land  areas  by  the  municipality,  to  prevent  speculation 
in  building  lots.     Simplification  of  the  procedure  in  examination 
of  building  plans,  and  the  granting  of  building  permits.     Sim- 
plifying the  regulations  pertaining  to  the  building  of  cottages 
and  small  residences.    Municipal  aid  in  the  building  of  working- 
men's  homes.    Providing  cheaper  homes  in  municipal  houses  and 
tenements.     Providing  loans  of  public  moneys  to  building  asso- 
ciations and  agricultural  associations.     Leasing  of  land  by  the 


APPENDIX  303 

municipality.  Municipal  inspection  of  dwellings  and  of  all  build- 
ings, the  municipality  to  keep  close  scrutiny  on  all  real  estate 
developments.  Establishment  of  a  public  bureau  of  homes,  where 
information  and  aid  can  be  secured,  and  where  proper  statistics 
can  be  gathered  concerning  building  conditions. 

9.  Providing  for  cheap  and  wholesome  food  through  the  regu- 
lation and  supervision  of  its  importation  and  inspection. 

10.  Extension  of   sanitation.     Conducting  hospitals  according 
to  modern  medical  science.     Establishing  municipal  lying-in  hos- 
pitals.    Free  burials. 

n.  Public  care  for  the  poor  and  orphans.  The  bettering  of 
the  economic  condition  of  women.  The  granting  of  aid  out 
of  public  funds.  Public  inspection  and  control  of  all  orphanages, 
hospitals  for  children,  and  nurseries. 

12.  The  establishment  of  public  labor  bureaus,  which  are  to  act 
as    employment    agencies,    information    bureaus,    gather    labor 
statistics,  and  supervise  the  sociological  activities  of  the  munici- 
pality. 

Providing  work  for  those  in  need  of  employment,  on  the 
public  works  of  the  commune.  Provision  for  the  support  of 
those  out  of  work  in  co-operation,  with  the  labor  unions'  efforts 
in  the  same  direction.  The  extension  of  municipal  factory  in- 
spection and  labor  laws,  as  far  as  the  general  laws  permit. 
Appointment  of  laborers  as  building  inspectors.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  industrial  and  commercial  courts.  Sunday  as  a 
day  of  rest. 

13.  Liberal   wages   to   be  paid   workmen    employed   on   public 
works.     Fixing  a  minimum  wage  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
of  the  labor  unions ;  formation  of  public  loan  and  credit  system ; 
eight-hour  day.    Insuring  public  employees  against  sickness,  acci- 
dent, and  old  age.     Making  provision  for  widows  and  orphans 
of   public  employees.     Right  to   organize  not  to  be   denied   all 
municipal   employees  and  officials.     Recognition   of   the  unions. 
Annual  vacation,  on  full  pay,  to  every  municipal  employee  and 
official.     Municipal   employees  to   be   given  their  wages   during 
their  attendance  on  military  manoeuvers,  and  the  payment  of  the 
difference  between  their   wages   and  their   sick-benefits   in  case 
of  illness. 

14.  Formation  of  a  union  of  communes  or  towns,  when  iso- 
lated municipalities  find  themselves  impotent  in  securing  these 
demands. 


6.  ELECTION  ADDRESS  (WAHLRUF)  OF  THE  GERMAN 
SOCIAL  DEMOCRATS  FOR  THE  REICHSTAG  ELEC- 
TIONS OF  1912 

ON  the  I2th  of  January,  1912,  the  general  election  for  the 
Reichstag  takes  place.  Rarely  have  the  voters  been  called  upon 
to  participate  in  a  more  consequential  election.  This  election  will 
determine  whether,  in  the  succeeding  years,  the  policy  of  op- 


304  APPENDIX 

pression  and  plundering  shall  be  carried  still  farther,  or  whether 
the  German  people  shall  finally  achieve  their  rights. 

In  the  Reichstag  elections  of  1907  the  voters  were  deceived 
by  the  government  and  the  so-called  national  parties :  many 
millions  of  voters  allowed  themselves  to  be  deluded.  The 
Reichstag  of  the  "  National "  bloc  from  Heydebrand  down  to 
Weimar  and  Nauman  has  made  nugatory  the  laws  pertain- 
ing to  the  rights  of  coalition ;  has  restricted  the  use  of  the  non- 
Germanic  languages  in  public  meetings;  has  virtually  robbed 
the  youth  of  the  right  of  coalition,  and  has  favored  every 
measure  for  the  increase  of  the  army,  navy,  and  colonial  ex- 
ploitation. 

The  result  of  their  reactionaryism  is  an  enormous  increase 
of  the  burdens  of  taxation.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  1906 
over  200,000,000  marks  increase  was  voted,  in  stamp  tax,  tobacco 
tax,  etc.,  in  spite  of  the  sacred  promise  of  the  government, 
through  its  official  organ,  that  no  new  taxes  were  being  con- 
templated, the  government  has,  through  its  "  financial  reforms," 
increased  our  burden  over  five  hundred  millions. 

Liberals  and  Conservatives  were  unanimous  in  declaring  that 
four-fifths  of  this  enormous  sum  should  be  raised  through  an 
increase  in  indirect  taxes,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  collected 
from  laborers,  clerks,  shopkeepers,  artisans,  and  farmers.  Inas- 
much as  the  parties  to  the  Biilow-b/oc  could  not  agree  upon 
the  distribution  of  the  property  tax  and  the  excise  tax,  the  bloc 
was  dissolved  and  a  new  coalition  appeared — an  alliance  between 
the  holy  ones  and  the  knights  (Block  der  Ritter  und  der 
Heiligen).  This  new  bloc  rescued  the  distiller  from  the  obliga- 
tions of  an  excise  tax,  defeated  the  inheritance  tax,  which 
would  have  fallen  upon  the  wealthy,  and  placed  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  working  people  a  tax  of  hundreds  of  millions, 
which  is  paid  through  the  consumption  of  beer,  whiskey,  to- 
bacco, cigars,  coffee,  tea — yea,  even  of  matches.  This  Copserva- 
tive-Clerical  bloc  further  showed  its  contempt  for  the  working 
people  in  the  way  it  amended  the  state  insurance  laws.  It 
robbed  the  workingman  of  his  rights  and  denied  to  mothers  and 
their  babes  necessary  protection  and  adequate  care. 

In  this  manner  the  gullibility  of  the  voters  who  were  re- 
sponsible for  the  Hottentot  elections  of  1907  was  revenged.  Since 
that  date  every  by-election  for  the  Reichstag,  as  well  as  for  the 
provincial  legislatures  and  municipal  councils,  has  shown  re- 
markable gains  in  the  Social  Democratic  vote.  The  reactionaries 
were  consequently  frightened,  and  now  they  resort  to  the  usual 
election  trick  of  diverting  the  attention  of  the  voters  from 
internal  affairs  to  international  conditions,  and  appeal  to  them 
under  the  guise  of  nationalism. 

The  Morocco  incident  gave  welcome  opportunity  for  this 
ruse.  At  home  and  abroad  the  capitalistic  war  interests  and 
the  nationalistic  jingoes  stirred  the  animosities  of  the  peoples. 
They  drove  their  dangerous  play  so  far  that  even  the  Chancellor 
found  himself  forced  to  reprimand  his  junker  colleagues  for 


APPENDIX  305 

using  their  patriotism  for  partisan  purposes.  But  the  attempt 
to  bolster  up  the  interests  of  the  reactionary  parties  with  our 
international  complications  continues  in  spite  of  this. 

Voters,  be  on  your  guard !  Remember  that  on  election  day 
you  have  in  your  hand  the  power  to  choose  between  peace  or 
war. 

The  outcome  of  this  election  is  no  less  important  in  its 
bearing  upon  internal  affairs. 

Count  Biilow  declared,  before  the  election  of  1907,  "  the  fewer 
the  Social  Democrats,  the  greater  the  social  reforms."  The 
opposite  is  true.  The  last  few  years  conclusively  demonstrate 
this.  The  socio-political  mills  have  rattled,  but  they  have  pro- 
duced very  little  flour. 

In  order  to  capture  their  votes  for  the  "  national "  candidates, 
the  state  employees  and  officials  were  promised  an  increase  in 
their  pay.  To  the  high-salaried  officials  the  new  Reichstag 
doled  out  the  increase  with  spades,  to  the  poorly  paid  humble 
employees  with  spoons.  And  this  increase  in  pay  was  counter- 
balanced by  an  increase  in  taxes  and  the  rising  cost  of  living. 

To  the  people  the  government  refused  to  give  any  aid,  in 
spite  of  their  repeated  requests  for  some  relief  against  the 
constantly  increasing  prices  of  the  necessities  of  life.  And, 
while  the  Chancellor  profoundly  maintained  that  the  press  exag- 
gerated the  actual  conditions  of  the  rise  in  prices,  the  so-called 
saviors  of  the  middle  class — the  Center,  the  Conservatives,  the 
anti-Semites  and  their  following — rejected  every  proposal  of 
the  Social  Democrats  for  relieving  the  situation,  and  actually 
laid  the  blame  for  the  rise  in  prices  upon  their  own  middle-class 
tradesmen  and  manufacturers. 

New  taxes,  high  cost  of  living,  denial  of  justice,  increasing 
danger  of  war — that  is  what  the  Reichstag  of  1907,  which  was 
ushered  in  with  such  high-sounding  "  national "  tom-toms,  has 
brought  you.  And  the  day  of  reckoning  is  at  hand.  Voters 
of  Germany,  elect  a  different  majority !  The  stronger  you  make 
the  Social  Democratic  representation  in  the  Reichstag,  the 
firmer  you  anchor  the  world's  peace  and  your  country's  wel- 
fare! 

The  Social  Democracy  seeks  the  conquest  of  political  power, 
which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  property  classes,  and  is  mis- 
used by  them  to  the  detriment  of  the  masses.  They  denounce 
us  as  "  revolutionists."  Foolish  phraseology !  The  bourgeois- 
capitalistic  society  is  no  more  eternal  than  have  been  the  earlier 
forms  of  the  state  and  preceding  social  orders.  The  present 
order  will  be  replaced  by  a  higher  order,  the  Socialistic  order, 
for  which  the  Social  Democracy  is  constantly  striving.  Then 
the  solidarity  of  all  peoples  will  be  accomplished  and  life  will 
be  made  more  humane  for  all.  The  pathway  to  this  new  social 
order  is  being  paved  by  our  capitalistic  development,  which 
contains  all  the  germs  of  the  New  Order  within  itself. 

For  us  the  duty  is  prescribed  to  use  every  means  at  hand  for 


306  APPENDIX 

the  amelioration  of  existing  evils,  and  to  create  conditions  that 
will  raise  the  standard  of  living  of  the  masses. 
Therefore  we  demand : 

1.  The  democratizing  of  the  state  in  all  of  its  activities.     An 
open  pathway  to  opportunity.    A  chance  for  every  one  to  develop 
his  aptitudes.     Special  privileges  to  none.     The  right  person  in 
the  right  place. 

2.  Universal,  direct,  equal,  secret  ballot  for  all  persons  twenty 
years  of  age  without  distinction  of  sex,  and  for  all  representative 
legislative   bodies.      Referendum    for   setting   aside   the   present 
unjust  election  district  apportionment  and  its  attendant  electoral 
abuses. 

3.  A  parliamentary  government.    Responsible  ministry.    Estab- 
lishment  of   a   department   for   the   control   of    foreign   affairs. 
Giving  the  people's  representatives  in  the  Reichstag  the  power 
to   declare   war  or  maintain  peace.     Consent  of  the  Reichstag 
to  all  state  appropriations. 

4.  Organization  of  the  national  defense  along  democratic  lines. 
Militia  service  for  all  able-bodied  men.    Reducing  service  in  the 
standing  army  to  the  lowest  terms  consistent  with  safety.    Train- 
ing youth  in  the  use  of  arms.     Abolition  of   the  privilege  of 
one-year  volunteer  service.    Abolition  of  all  unnecessary  expense 
for  uniforms  in  army  and  navy. 

5.  Abolition   of    "  class-justice "   and   of   administrative   injus- 
tice.    Reform  of  the  penal  code,  along  lines  of  modern  culture 
and  jurisprudence.     Abolition  of  all  privileges  pertaining  to  the 
administration  of  justice. 

6.  Security  to  all  workingmen,  employees,  and  officials  in  their 
right  to  combine,  to  meet,  and  to  organize. 

7.  Establishment  of  a  national  Department  of  Labor,  officials 
of  this   Department  to  be  elected  by  the  interests   represented 
upon  the  basis  of  universal  and  equal  suffrage.     Extension  of 
factory    inspection    by    the    participation    of    workingmen    and 
workingwomen  in  the  same.    Legalized  universal  eight-hour  day, 
shortening  the  hours  of  labor  in  industries  that  are  detrimental 
to  health. 

8.  Reform  of  industrial  insurance,  exemption  of  farm  laborers 
and    domestic   servants    from   contributing  to   insurance    funds. 
Direct  election  of  representatives  in  the  administration  of  the 
insurance   funds ;   enlarging  the  representation  of  labor  on  the 
board  of  directors ;   increasing  the  amounts  paid  workingmen ; 
lowering  age  for  old-age  pensions  from  70  to  65  years;  aid  to 
expectant  mothers ;  and  free  medical  attendance. 

9.  Complete    religious    freedom.      Separation    of    Church    and 
State,  and  of  school  and  Church.    No  support  of  any  kind,  from 
public  funds,  for  religious  purposes. 

10.  Universal,  free  schools  as  the  basis  of  all  education.    Free 
text-books.     Freedom  for  art  and  science. 

11.  Diminution  and  ultimate  abolition  of  all  indirect  taxes,  and 
abolition  of  all  taxes  on  the  necessities  of  life.     Abolition  of 
duties  on  foodstuffs.    Limiting  the  restrictions  upon  the  importa- 


APPENDIX  307 

tion  of  cattle,  fowl,  and  meat  to  the  necessary  sanitary  measures. 
Reduction  in  the  tariff,  especially  in  those  schedules  which  en- 
courage the  development  of  syndicates  and  pools,  thereby  en- 
abling products  of  German  manufacture  to  be  sold  cheaper 
abroad  than  at  home. 

12.  The  support  of  all  measures  that  tend  to  develop  commerce 
and  trade.    Abolition  of  tax  on  railway  tickets.     A  stamp  tax 
on  bills  of  lading. 

13.  A  graduated  income,  property,  and  inheritance  tax;  inas- 
much as  this  is  the  most  effective  way  of  dampening  the  ardor 
of  the  rich  for  a  constantly  increasing  army  and  navy. 

14.  Internal  improvements  and  colonization ;  the  transformation 
of  great  estates  into  communal  holdings,  thereby  making  possible 
a  greater  food  supply  and  a  corresponding  lowering  of  prices. 
The  establishment  of  public  farms  and  agricultural  schools.    The 
reclamation  of  swamp-lands,  moors,  and  dunes.     The  cessation 
of  foreign  colonization  now  done  for  the  purpose  of  exploiting 
foreign  peoples  for  the  sake  of  gain. 

Voters  of  Germany !  New  naval  and  military  appropriations 
await  you ;  these  will  increase  the  burdens  of  your  taxes  by 
hundreds  of  millions.  As  on  former  occasions,  so  now  the 
ruling  class  will  attempt  to  roll  these  heavy  burdens  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  humble,  and  thereby  increase  the  burden  of 
existence  of  the  family. 

Therefore,  let  the  women,  upon  whom  the  burden  of  the 
household  primarily  rests,  and  who  are  to-day  without  political 
rights,  take  active  part  in  this  work  of  emancipation  and  join 
themselves  with  determination  to  our  cause,  which  is  also  their 
cause. 

Voters  of  Germany !  If  you  are  in  accord  with  these  prin- 
ciples, then  give  your  votes  on  the  I2th  of  January  to  the  Social 
Democratic  Party.  Help  prepare  the  foundations  for  a  new 
and  better  state  whose  motto  shall  be: 

Death  to  Want  and  Idleness !  Work,  Bread,  and  Justice  for 
all! 

Let  your  battle-cry  on  election  day  resound :  Long  live  the 
Social  Democracy ! 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  SOCIAL  DEMOCRATIC 
REPRESENTATION  IN  THE  REICHSTAG. 

BERLIN,  December  5,  1911. 


IV.  BELGIUM 

POLITICAL  UNIONISM  IN  BELGIUM 

THE  Catholic  Church  essayed  to  organize  in  Belgium  a  "  Chris- 
tian Socialist "  movement,  patterned  after  Bishop  Kettler's  move- 
ment in  the  Rhine  provinces.  The  movement  was  called  "  Fede- 
ration des  Societes  Ouvriers  Catholiques  "  and  grew  to  con- 
siderable power.  The  federation  soon,  however,  developed  dem- 
ocratic tendencies  that  separated  it  from  the  Clerical  Party,  and 
the  Abbe  Daens,  their  first  deputy  in  the  Chamber  of  Repre- 
sentatives, provoked  the  hostility  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
and  was  deprived  of  his  clerical  prerogatives. 

The  Catholic  labor  unions,  which  did  not  join  in  this  democratic 
movement,  have  in  the  last  few  years  developed  some  strength, 
and  have  now  about  20,000  members. 

The  Progressists  or  Radicals  have  from  the  first  been  favorable 
to  labor  and  have  in  their  ranks  many  workmen  from  the  indus- 
tries "  de  luxe,"  such  as  bronze  workers,  jewelers,  art  craftsmen, 
etc. 

The  Liberals  have  a  trades-union  organization  which  does  not 
flourish.  It  has  about  2,000  members.  The  Liberals  have,  how- 
ever, together  with  the  Progressists,  some  influence  over  the 
independent  unions,  with  their  32,000  mejnbers. 

The  Socialist  labor  unions  are  the  largest  and  most  powerful. 
Their  average  yearly  membership  in  the  years  1885-00  was  40,234 ; 
in  1899  it  was  61,451 ;  in  1909  it  had  increased  to  103,451. 


STATISTICAL  TABLES 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CO-OPERATIVE  SOCIETIES 
IN  BELGIUM 


Year 

No.  Of 
Socie- 
ties 

Safes- 
francs 

Profits- 
Francs 

No.  of 
Members 

No. 
of  Em- 
ployees 

Value  of 
Realty 
Francs 

Paid-up 
Capital 
Francs 

1904 

168 

26,936,873 

3,140,210 

103.349 

1785 

10,302,059 

1,146,651 

1905 

161 

28,174,563 

3.035.941 

119,581 

1752 

12,091,300 

1,655,061 

1906 

162 

33.569i359 

3,493,586 

126,993 

1809 

12,844,976 

1,694,878 

1907 

166 

39,103,673 

3,843,568 

134,694 

2093 

14,280,955 

1,940,175 

1908 

'75 

4°.655.359 

3,855,444 

140,730 

2128 

14,837,114 

1,942,266 

iqog 

199 

43,288,867 

4.678,559 

148,042 

2223 

15,850,158 

1,893,616 

308 


APPENDIX 


309 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  WHOLESALE  CO-OPERATIVE 
MOVEMENT  IN  BELGIUM  FROM  THE  DATE  OF  ITS  BEGINNING  IN  1901 


Year 

Amount  of  Business  Done 
—  Francs 

Year 

Amount  of  Business  Done 
—  Francs 

IQOI 

i  go  2 

I9<>3 
1904 
IQ05 

769,356 
1,211,439 
i.48s,S73 
1,608,475 
2,219,842 

1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 

2,416,372 
2,796,196 
2,995.615 
3,211,849 
4,489,996 

Adopted  at  Brussels  in  1893 
DECLARATION  OF  PRINCIPLES 

1.  THE  constituents  of  wealth  in  general,  and  in  particular  the 
means  of  production,  are  either  natural  agencies   or  the  fruit 
of    the    labor — manual    and    mental — of    previous    generations 
besides  the  present;  consequently  they  must  be  considered  the 
common  heritage  of  mankind. 

2.  The  right  of  individuals  or  groups  to  enjoy  this  heritage 
can  be  based  only  on  social  utility,  and  aimed  only  at  securing 
for  every  human  being  the  greatest  possible  sum  of   freedom 
and  well-being. 

3.  The  realization  of  this  ideal  is  incompatible  with  the  main- 
tenance  of   the   capitalistic   regime,   which   divides   society   into 
two  necessarily  antagonistic  classes — the  one  able  to  enjoy  prop- 
erty without  working,  the  other  obliged  to  relinquish  a  part  of 
its  product  to  the  possessing  class. 

4.  The  workers  can  only  expect  their  complete  emancipation 
from  the  suppression  of  classes  and  a  radical  transformation  of 
existing  society. 

This  transformation  will  be  in  favor,  not  only  of  the  pro- 
letariat, but  of  mankind  as  a  whole ;  nevertheless,  as  it  is  con- 
trary to  the  immediate  interests  of  the  possessing  class,  the 
emancipation  of  the  workers  will  be  essentially  the  work  of  the 
workers  themselves. 

5.  In  economic  matters  their  aim  must  be  to  secure  the  free 
use,   without   charge,   of    all   the   means   of   production.     This 
result  can  only  be  attained,  in  a  society  where  collective  labor 
is    more    and    more    replacing    individual    labor,    by   the    collec- 
tive appropriation  of  natural  agencies  and  the  instruments  of 
labor. 

6.  The  transformation  of  the  capitalistic  regime  into  a  col- 
lectivist  regime  must  necessarily  be  accompanied  by  correlative 
trans  formations — 


310  APPENDIX 

(a)  In  morals,  by  the  development  of  altruistic  feelings  and 
the  practice  of  solidarity. 

(&)  In  politics,  by  the  transformation  of  the  State  into  a  busi- 
ness management  (administration  des  choses). 

7.  Socialism  must,  therefore,  pursue  simultaneously  the  eco- 
nomic, moral,  and  political  emancipation  of  the  proletariat.  Nev- 
ertheless, the  economic  point  of  view  must  be  paramount,  for 
the  concentration  of  capital  in  the  hands  of  a  single  class  forms 
the  basis  of  all  the  other  forms  of  its  domination. 

To  realize  its  principles  the  Labor  Party  declares — 

(1)  That  it  considers  itself  as  the  representative,  not  only  of 
the  working-class,  but  of  all  the  oppressed,  without  distinction 
of  nationality,  worship,  race,  or  sex. 

(2)  That  the  Socialists  of  all  countries  must  make  common 
cause   (etre  solidaires),  the  emancipation  of  the  workers  being 
not  a  national,  but  an  international  work. 

(3)  That    in    their    struggle    against    the    capitalist    class    the 
workers  must  fight  by   every  means  in  their  power,  and  par- 
ticularly   by    political     action,    by    the     development    of     free 
associations,    and    by    the   ceaseless    propagation    of    Socialistic 
principles. 

I. — POLITICAL  PROGRAM 

1.  Electoral  reform. 

(a)  Universal  suffrage  without  distinction  of  sex  for  all  ranks 
(age-limit,  twenty-one;  residence,  six  months). 
(&)  Proportional  representation. 

(c)  Election    expenses    to    be    charged    on    the    public    au- 
thorities. 

(d)  Payment  of  elected  persons. 

(e)  Elected  persons  to  be  bound  by  pledges,  according  to  law. 
(/)  Electorates    to    have    the    right    of    unseating    elected 

persons. 

2.  Decentralisation  of  political  power. 
(a)  Suppression  of  the  Senate. 

(&)  Creation  of  Legislative  Councils,  representing  the  different 
functions  of  society  (industry,  commerce,  agriculture,  education, 
etc.)  ;  such  Councils  to  be  autonomous,  within  the  limits  of 
their  competence  and  excepting  the  veto  of  Parliament;  such 
Councils  to  be  federated,  for  the  study  and  defense  of  their 
common  interests. 

3.  Communal  autonomy. 

(a)  Mayors  to  be  appointed  by  the  electorate. 

(b)  Small  communes  to  be  fused  or  federated. 

(c)  Creation  of  elected  committees  corresponding  to  the  dif- 
ferent branches  of  communal  administration. 

4.  Direct  legislation. 

Right  of  popular  initiative  and  referendum  in  legislative, 
provincial,  and  communal  matters. 

5.  Reform  of  education. 

(a)  Primary,  all-round,   free,  secular,  compulsory  instruction 


APPENDIX  311 

at  the  expense  of  the  State.  Maintenance  of  children  attending 
the  schools  by  the  public  authorities.  Intermediate  and  higher 
instruction  to  be  free,  secular,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  State. 

(&)  Administration  of  the  schools  by  the  public  authorities, 
under  the  control  of  School  Committees  elected  by  universal 
suffrage  of  both  sexes,  with  representatives  of  the  teaching  staff 
and  the  State. 

(c)  Assimilation  of  communal  teachers  to  the  State's  educa- 
tional officials. 

(d)  Creation  of  a  Superior  Council  of  Education,  elected  by 
the  School  Committees,  who  are  to  organize  the  inspection  and 
control  of  free  schools  and  of  official  schools. 

(?)  Organization  of  trade  education,  and  obligation  of  all 
children  to  learn  manual  work. 

(/)  Autonomy  of  the  State  Universities,  and  legal  recognition 
of  the  Free  Universities.  University  Extension  to  be  organized 
at  the  expense  of  the  public  authorities. 

6.  Separation  of  the  Churches  and  the  State. 
(a)   Suppression  of  the  grant  for  public  worship. 

(&)  Philosophic  or  religious  associations  to  be  civil  persons 
at  law. 

7.  Re-vision  of  Sections  in  the  Civil  Code  concerning  marriage 
and  the  paternal  authority. 

(o)  Civil  equality  of  the  sexes,  and  of  children,  whether  nat- 
ural or  legitimate. 

(fc)  Revision  of  the  divorce  laws,  maintaining  the  husband's 
liability  to  support  the  wife  or  the  children. 

(c)  Inquiry  into  paternity  to  be  legalized. 

(d)  Protective  measures   in  favor  of   children  materially  or 
morally  abandoned. 

8.  Extension  of  liberties. 

Suppression  of  measures  restricting  any  of  the  liberties. 

9.  Judicial  reform. 

(a)  Application  of  the  elective  principle  to  all  jurisdictions. 
Reduction  of  the  number  of  magistrates. 

(b)  Justice    without    fees;    State-payment   of    advocates   and 
officials  of  the  Courts. 

(c)  Magisterial    examination    in    penal    cases    to    be    public. 
Persons    prosecuted    to    be    medically    examined.     Victims    of 
judicial  errors  to  be  indemnified. 

10.  Suppression  of  armies. 

Provisionally;  organization  of  a  national  militia. 

11.  Suppression  of  hereditary  offices,  and  establishment  of  a 
Republic. 

II. — ECONOMIC  PROGRAM 

A. — General  Measures 

i.  Organisation  of  statistics. 

(a)  Creation  of  a  Ministry  of  Labor, 


312  APPENDIX 

(&)  Pecuniary  aid  from  the  public  authorities  for  the  organ- 
ization of  labor  secretariates  by  workmen  and  employers. 

2.  Legal  recognition  of  associations,  especially — 
(a)   Legal  recognition  of  trade-unions. 

(&)  Reform  of  the  law  on  friendly  societies  and  co-operative 
societies  and  subsidy  from  the  public  authorities. 

(c)  Repression  of  infringements  of  the  right  of  combination. 

3.  Legal  regulation  of  the  contract  of  employment. 

Extension  of  laws  protecting  labor  to  all  industries,  and  espe- 
cially to  agriculture,  shipping,  and  fishing.  Fixing  of  a  minimum 
wage  and  maximum  of  hours  of  labor  for  workers,  industrial 
or  agricultural,  employed  by  the  State,  the  Communes,  the 
Provinces,  or  the  contractors  for  public  works. 

•  Intervention  of  workers,  and  especially  of  workers'  unions, 
in  the  framing  of  rules.  Suppression  of  fines.  Suppression  of 
savings-banks  and  benefit  clubs  in  workshops.  Fixing  of  a 
maximum  of  6,000  francs  for  public  servants  and  managers. 

4.  Transformation  of  public  charity  into  a  general  insurance 
of  all  citizens — 

(a)  against  unemployment ; 

(&)  against  disablement  (sickness,  accident,  old  age)  ; 

(c)  against  death  (widows  and  orphans). 

5.  Reorganization  of  public  finances. 

(a)  Abolition  of  indirect  taxes,  especially  taxes  on  food  and 
customs  tariffs. 

(&)   Monopoly  of  alcohol  and  tobacco. 

(c)  Progressive  income-tax.    Taxes  on  legacies  and  gifts  be- 
tween the  living  (excepting  gifts  to  works  of  public  utility). 

(d)  Suppression  of  intestate  succession,  except  in  the  direct 
line  .and  within  limits  to  be  determined  by  law. 

6.  Progressive  extension  of  public  property. 

The  State  to  take  over  the  National  Bank.     Social  organiza- 
tion of  loans,  at  interest  to  cover  costs  only,  to  individuals  and 
to  associations  of  workers. 
i.  Industrial  property. 

Abolition,  on  grounds  of  public  utility,  of  private  owner- 
ship in  mines,  quarries,  the  subsoil  generally,  and  of  the 
great  means  of  production  and  transport. 
ii.  Agricultural  property. 

(a)  Nationalization  of  forests. 

(b)  Reconstruction  or  development  of  common  lands. 

(c)  Progressive  taking  over  of  the  land  by  the  State  or 
the  communes. 

7.  Autonomy  of  public  services. 

(a)  Administration  of  the  public  services  by  special  auton- 
omous commissions,  under  the  control  of  the  State. 

(&)  Creation  of  committees  elected  by  the  workmen  and  em- 
ployees of  the  public  services  to  debate  with  the  central  adminis- 
tration the  conditions  of  the  remuneration  and  organization  of 
labor. 


APPENDIX  313 


B. — Particular  Measures  for  Industrial  Workers 

1.  Abolition  of  all  laws  restricting  the  right  of  combination. 

2.  Regulation  of  industrial  labor. 

(a)  Prohibition  of  employment  of  children  under  fourteen. 
(&)  Half-time    system    between    the    ages    of    fourteen    and 
eighteen. 

(c)  Prohibition   of    employment   of   women    in   all   industries 
where  it  is  incompatible  with  morals  or  health. 

(d)  Reduction  of  working-day  to  a  maximum  of  eight  hours 
for  adults  of  both  sexes,  and  minimum  wage. 

(e)  Prohibition  of  night-work  for  all  categories  of  workers 
and  in  all  industries,  where  this  mode  of  working  is  not  abso- 
lutely necessary. 

(/)  One  day's  rest  per  week,  so  far  as  possible  on  Sunday. 

(g)  Responsibility  of  employers  in  case  of  accidents,  and  ap- 
pointment of  doctors  to  attend  persons  wounded. 

(h)  Workmen's  memorandum-books  and  certificates  to  be 
abolished,  and  their  use  prohibited. 

3.  Inspection  of  work. 

(a)  Employment  of  paid  medical  authorities,  in  the  interests 
of  labor  hygiene. 

(b)  Appointment  of  inspectors  by  the  Councils  of   Industry 
and  Labor. 

4.  Reorganisation   of   the   Industrial    Tribunals    (Conseils   de 
Prud'hommes)  and  the  Councils  of  Industry  and  Labor. 

(a)  Working  women  to  have  votes  and  be  eligible. 

(b)  Submission  to  the  Courts  to  be  compulsory. 

5.  Regulation  of  work  in  prisons  and  convents. 

C. — Particular  Measures  for  Agricultural  Workers 

1.  Reorganisation  of  the  Agricultural  Courts. 

(a)  Nomination  of  delegates  in  equal  numbers  by  the  land- 
owners, farmers,  and  laborers. 

(&)  Intervention  of  the  Chambers  in  individual  or  collective 
disputes  between  landowners,  farmers,  and  agricultural  workers. 

(c)  Fixing  of  a  minimum  wage  by  the  public  authorities  on 
the  proposition  of  the  Agricultural  Courts. 

2.  Regulation  of  contracts  to  pay  farm-rents. 

(a)  Fixing  of  the  rate  of  farm-rents  by  Committees  of  Arbi- 
tration or  by  the  reformed  Agricultural  Courts. 

(b)  Compensation  to  the  outgoing  farmer  for  enhanced  value 
of  property. 

(r)  Participation  of  landowners,  to  a  wider  extent  than  that 
fixed  by  the  Civil  Code,  in  losses  incurred  by  farmers. 

(d)  Suppression  of  the  landowner's  privilege. 

3.  Insurance  by  the  provinces,  and  reinsurance  by  the  State, 
against  epizootic  diseases,  diseases   of  plants,  hail,  floods,  and 
other  agricultural  risks. 


314  APPENDIX 

4.  Organisation  by  the  public  authorities  of  a  free  agricultural 
education. 

Creation  or  development  of  experimental  fields,  model  farms, 
agricultural  laboratories. 

5.  Purchase  by  the  communes  of  agricultural  implements  to  be 
at  the  disposal  of  their  inhabitants. 

Assignment  of  common  lands  to  groups  of  laborers  engaging 
not  to  employ  wage-labor. 

6.  Organisation  of  a  free  medical  service  in  the  country. 

7.  Reform  of  the  Game  Laws. 
(a)  Suppression  of  gun  licenses. 
(&)  Suppression  of  game  preserves. 

(c)  Right  of  cultivators  to  destroy  all  the  year  round  animals 
which  injure  crops. 

8.  Intervention  of  public  authorities  in  the  creation  of  agri- 
cultural co-operative  societies — 

(a)  For  buying  seed  and  manure. 
(&)  For  making  butter. 

(c)  For   the   purchase   and   use   in   common   of   agricultural 
machines. 

(d)  For  the  sale  of  produce. 

(?)  For  the  working  of  land  by  groups. 

9.  Organisation  of  agricultural  credit. 


III. — COMMUNAL  PROGRAM 

1.  Educational  reforms. 

(a)  Free  scientific  instruction  for  children  up  to  fourteen. 
Special  courses  for  older  children  and  adults. 

(&)  Organization  of  education  in  trades  and  industries,  in 
co-operation  with  workmen's  organizations. 

(c)  Maintenance  of  children;  except  where  the  public  authori- 
ties intervene  to  do  so. 

(d)  Institution  of  school  refreshment-rooms.     Periodical  dis- 
tribution of  boots  and  clothing. 

(e)  Orphanages.     Establishments   for  children  abandoned  or 
cruelly  ill-treated. 

2.  Judicial  reforms. 

Office  for  consultations  free  of  charge  in  cases  coming  before 
the  law-courts,  the  industrial  courts,  etc. 

3.  Regulation  of  work. 

(a)  Minimum  wage  and  maximum  working-day  to  be  made 
a  clause  in  contracts  for  communal  works. 

(&)  Intervention  of  trade  associations  in  the  fixing  of  rates 
of  wages,  and  general  regulation  of  industry.  The  Echevin 
of  Public  Works  to  supervise  the  execution  of  these  clauses  in 
contracts. 

(c)  Appointment  by  the  workmen's  associations  of  inspectors 
to  supervise  the  clauses  in  contracts. 

(rf)  Rigorous  application  of  the  principle  of  tenders  open  to 


APPENDIX  315 

all,  for  all  services  which,  during  a  transition-period,  are  not 
managed  directly. 

(e)  Permission  to  trade-unions  to  tender,  and  abolition  of 
security-deposit. 

(/)  Creation  of  Bourses  du  Travail,  or  at  least  offices  for 
the  demand  and  supply  of  employment,  whose  administration 
shall  be  entrusted  to  trade-unions  or  labor  associations. 

(fir)  Fixing  of  a  minimum  wage  for  the  workmen  and  em- 
ployees of  a  commune. 

4.  Public  charity. 

(a)  Admission  of  workmen  to  the  administration  of  the  coun- 
cils of  hospitals  and  of  public  charity. 

(6)  Transformation  of  public  charity  and  the  hospitals  into 
a  system  of  insurance  against  old  age.  Organization  of  a  medical 
service  and  drug  supply.  Establishment  of  public  free  baths  and 
wash-houses. 

(c)  Establishment  of  refuges  for  the  aged  and  disabled. 
Night-shelter  and  food-distribution  for  workmen  wandering  in 
search  of  work. 

5  Complete  neutrality  of  all  communal  services  from  the 
philosophical  point  of  view. 

6.  Finance. 

(a)  Saving  to  be  effected  on  present  cost  of  administration. 
Maximum  allowance  of  6,000  francs  for  mayors  and  other  of- 
ficials.     Costs    of    entertainment    for    mayors    who    must    incur 
certain  private  expenses. 

(b)  Income  tax. 

(c)  Special  tax  on  sites  not  built  over  and  houses  not  let. 

7.  Public  services. 

(a)  The  commune,  or  a  federation  of  communes  composing 
one  agglomeration,  is  to  work  the  means  of  transport — tramways, 
omnibuses,  cabs,  district  railways,  etc. 

(b)  The  commune,  or   federation  of  communes,  is  to  work 
directly  the  services  of  general  interest  at  present  conceded  to 
companies — lighting,   water-supply,    markets,    highways,    heating, 
security,  health. 

(c)  Compulsory    insurance    of    the    inhabitants    against    fire; 
except  where  the  State  intervenes  to  do  so. 

(rf)  Construction  of  cheap  dwellings  by  the  commune,  the 
hospices,  and  the  charity  offices. 


V.  ENGLAND 

GROWTH  OF  SOCIALISTIC  SENTIMENT  IN 
ENGLAND 

IN  1885  the  Earl  of  Wemyss  made  a  speech  in  the  House  of 
Lords  deploring  the  advancement  of  state  interference  in  busi- 
ness and  giving  a  resume  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  that  showed 
how  "Socialism"  invaded  St.  Stephens  from  1870  to  1885. 

His  speech  is  interesting,  not  because  it  voices  the  ultra- 
Conservative's  apprehensions  but  because  the  Earl  had  really 
discovered  the  legal  basis  of  the  new  Social  Democratic  advance, 
which  had  come  unheralded.  The  Earl  reviewed  the  bills  that 
Parliament  had  sanctioned,  which  dealt  with  state  "  interference." 
Twelve  bills  referred  to  lands  and  houses.  "  All  of  these  meas- 
ures assume  the  right  of  the  state  to  regulate  the  management 
of,  or  to  confiscate  real  property " — steps  in  the  direction  of 
substituting  "  land  nationalization "  for  individual  ownership. 
Five  laws  dealt  with  corporations,  "  confiscating  property  of  water 
companies,"  etc. ;  nine  dealt  with  ships :  "  all  of  them  assertions 
by  the  Board  of  Trade  of  its  right  to  regulate  private  enterprise 
and  individual  management  in  the  mercantile  marine ;  "  six  with 
mines,  "  prompting  a  fallacious  confidence  in  government  inspec- 
tion ; "  six  with  railways,  "  all  encroachments  upon  self-govern- 
ment of  private  enterprise  in  railways — successive  steps  in  the 
direction  of  state  railways."  Nine  had  to  do  with  manufactures 
and  trades,  "  invasions  by  the  state  of  the  self-government  of 
the  various  interests  of  the  country,  and  curtailment  of  the 
freedom  of  contract  between  employers  and  employed."  "  The 
Pawnbrokers'  Act  of  1872  was  the  thin  edge  of  the  wedge  for 
reducing  the  business  of  the  '  poor  man's  banks '  to  a  state 
monopoly."  Twenty  laws  dealt  with  liquor,  "  all  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  state  to  regulate  the  dealings  and  habits  of  buyers 
and  sellers  of  alcoholic  drinks."  Sixteen  dealt  with  dwellings  of 
the  working  class,  "  all  embodying  the  principle  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  state  to  provide  dwellings,  private  gardens,  and 
other  conveniences  for  the  working  classes,  and  assume  its  right 
to  appropriate  land  for  these  purposes."  There  were  nine  edu- 
cation acts,  "  all  based  on  the  assumption  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  state  to  act  in  loco  parentis."  Four  laws  dealt  with  recrea- 
tion, "  whereby  the  state,  having  educated  the  people  in  common 
school  rooms,  proceeds  to  provide  them  with  common  reading- 
rooms,  and  afterwards  turns  them  out  at  stated  times  into  the 
streets  for  common  holidays." 

316 


APPENDIX  317 

Of  local  government  and  improvement  acts,  there  were  passed 
"  a  vast  mass  of  local  legislation  .  .  .  containing  interferences 
in  every  conceivable  particular  with  liberty  and  property." 

The  Earl  quotes  Lord  Palmerston  as  saying  in  1865,  "Tenant 
right  is  landlord  wrong,"  and  Lord  Sherbrooke,  in  1866,  "  Hap- 
pily there  is  an  oasis  upon  which  all  men,  without  distinction 
of  party,  can  take  common  stand,  and  that  is  the  good  ground 
of  political  economy."  And  the  noble  lord  concludes  by  pre- 
dicting, "  The  general  social  results  of  such  Socialistic  legisla- 
tion may  be  summed  up  in  '  dynamite,'  '  detectives,'  and  '  general 
demoralization.' " 

In  1887  the  Earl  again  turned  his  guns  upon  the  radical  ad- 
vance, but  only  seven  peers  were  on  the  benches  to  listen.  In 
1890  he  made  a  third  resume  under  a  more  liberal  patronage  of 
listeners;  this  time  the  factory  laws  and  inspection  measures 
came  in  for  his  especial  criticism.  He  said :  "  Now,  my  lords, 
what  is  the  character  of  all  this  legislation?  It  is  to  substitute 
state  help  for  self  help,  to  regulate  and  control  men  in  their 
dealings  with  one  another  with  regard  to  land  or  anything  else. 
The  state  now  forbids  contracts,  breaks  contracts,  makes  con- 
tracts. The  whole  tendency  is  to  substitute  the  state  or  the 
municipality  for  the  free  action  of  the  individual."  2 

AN  EARLY  POLITICAL  BROADSIDE 
BY  THE  MARXIANS. 

The  earlier  attitude  of  the  Marxian  Socialists  of  London  to- 
ward participating  in  elections  is  shown  in  the  following  broad- 
side, dated  July,  1895 : 

"  We,  revolutionary  Social  Democrats,  disdain  to  conceal  our 
principles.  We  proclaim  the  class  war.  We  hold  that  the  lot 
of  the  worker  cannot  to  any  appreciable  extent  be  improved 
except  by  a  complete  overthrow  of  this  present  capitalist  system 
of  society.  The  time  for  social  tinkering  has  gone  past.  Gov- 
ernment statistics  show  that  the  number  of  unemployed  is  slowly 
but  surely  increasing,  and  that  the  decreases  in  wages  greatly 
preponderate  over  the  increases,  and  everything  points  to  the 
fact  that  the  condition  of  your  class  is  getting  worse  and  worse. 

"  Refuse  once  for  all  to  allow  your  backs  to  be  made  the 
stepping  stones  to  obtain  that  power  which  they  (the  politicians) 
know  only  too  well  how  to  use  against  you. 

"  Scoff  at  their  patronizing  airs  and  claim  your  rights  like 
men.  Refuse  to  give  them  that  which  they  want,  i.e.,  your  vote. 
Give  them  no  opportunity  of  saying  that  they  are  your  repre- 
sentatives. Refuse  to  be  a  party  to  the  fraud  of  present-day 
politics,  and 

"ABSTAIN  FROM  VOTING." 

1  Debates,  House  of  Lords,  July,  31,   1885.    The  speech  was    privately 
printed. 
8  Debates,  May  IQ,  1890.    This  speech  was  also  given  private  circulation. 


APPENDIX 


THRIFT  INSTITUTIONS  IN  ENGLAND  FOR  SAVINGS, 
INSURANCE,  ETC.,  1907 

(FROM  CHIOZZA  MONEY—"  RICHES  AND  POVERTY,"  p.  56) 


Name  of  Institution 

Number  of 
Members 

Funds—  £ 

. 

623,047 

73,289,229 

s 

3,418,869 

a  ,7  '0.437 
9,010,574 
29,716 
372,847 
70,980 
141,850 

313.7SS 
4,029 
12,207 

19.346,567 
25,610,365 
9,946,447 

337,393 
381,463 
532,717 
897,784 
65,513 
8,570 
i,349 

Total  

15,983,264 

57,128,168 

Co-operative  Societies,  industry  and  trade 

2,461,028 
108,550 
18,631 

53,788,917 
984,680 
1,619,716 

Total  

2,588,209 

56»393,3i3 

i,973>56o 

99,37' 
33.57*5 

6,424,176 
164,560 
260,905 

Grand  Total  of  Registered  Provident  Socie- 

21,301,027 

193,660,351 

Rail  way  Savings  Banks  

64,126* 

1,780,214* 
10,692,555* 

5.865,351  t 
61,729,588  1 
J78>°33,974t 

Post  Office  Savings  Banks  

Bank  Total       

12,536,895 

245,628,634 

Grand  Total  

33<837,0" 

439,388,985 

*Depositions 

t  Deposits 

In  this  table  allowance  must  be  made  for  those  belonging  to  more  than 
one  society,  and,  of  course,  not  all  the  depositors  or  members  are  working- 
men,  especially  in  the  savings  banks  and  building  societies. 


STANDING  ORDERS  (1911) 

Contributions 

AFFILIATION  Fees  and  Parliamentary  Fund  Contributions  must 
be  paid  by  December  3ist  each  year. 


APPENDIX  319 


Annual  Conference 

1.  The  Annual  Conference  shall  meet  during  the  month  of 
January. 

2.  Affiliated  Societies  may  send  one  delegate  for  every  thou- 
sand or  part  of  a  thousand  members  paid  for. 

3.  Affiliated  Trades   Councils  and   Local   Labor   Parties   may 
send  one  delegate  if  their  affiliation  fee  has  been  153.,  and  two 
delegates  if  the  fee  has  been  305. 

4.  Persons    eligible    as    delegates    must    be    paying    bona    fide 
members  or  paid  permanent  officials  of  the  organizations  send- 
ing them. 

5.  A  fee  of  55.  per  delegate  will  be  charged. 

6.  The  National  Executive  will  ballot  for  the  places  to  be  al- 
lotted to  the  delegates. 

7.  Voting  at  the  Conference  shall  be  by  show  of  hands,  but  on 
a  division  being  challenged,  delegates  shall  vote  by  cards,  which 
shall  be  issued  on  the  basis  of  one  card  for  each  thousand  mem- 
bers, or  fraction  of  a  thousand,  paid  for  by  the  Society  repre- 
sented. 

Conference  Agenda 

1.  Resolutions  for  the  Agenda  and  Amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution must  be  sent  in  by  November  ist  each  year. 

2.  Amendments  to  Resolutions  must  be  sent  in  by  December 
I5th  each  year. 

Nominations  for  National  Executive  and  Secretaryship 

1.  Nominations  for  the  National  Executive  and  the  Secretary- 
ship must  be  sent  in  by  December  iSth. 

2.  No  member  of  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  Trade 
Union  Congress  or  of  the  Management  Committee  of  the  General 
Federation  of  Trade  Unions  is  eligible  for  nomination  to  the 
National  Executive. 

CONSTITUTION 

(As  revised  under  the  authority  of  the  Newport  Conference, 

1910) 

ORGANIZATION 

I.  Affiliation. 

1.  The  Labor  Party  is  a  Federation  consisting  of  Trade  Unions, 
Trades  Councils,  Socialist  Societies,  and  Local  Labor  Parties. 

2.  A   Local   Labor    Party  in   any   constituency   is   eligible    for 
affiliation,  provided  it  accepts  the  Constitution  and  policy  of  the 
Party,  and  that  there  is  no  affiliated  Trades   Council  covering 
the  constituency,  or  that,  if  there  be  such  Council,  it  has  been 
consulted  in  the  first  instance. 


320  APPENDIX 

3.  Co-operative  Societies  are  also  eligible. 

4.  A  National  Organization  of  Women,  accepting  the  basis  of 
this  Constitution,  and  the  policy  of  the  Party,  and  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  assisting  the  Party,  shall  be  eligible  for  affiliation 
as  though  it  were  a  Trades  Council. 

II.  Object. 

To  secure  the  election  of  Candidates  to  Parliament  and  organ- 
ize and  maintain  a  Parliamentary  Labor  Party,  with  its  own 
whips  and  policy. 

III.  Candidates  and  Members. 

1.  Candidates    and    Members   must   accept   this    Constitution; 
agree  to  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  Parliamentary  Party  in 
carrying  out  the  aims  of  this  Constitution ;  appear  before  their 
constituencies  under  the  title  of  Labor  Candidates  only ;  abstain 
strictly  from  identifying  themselves  with  or  promoting  the  inter- 
ests of  any  Parliamentary  Party  not  affiliated,  or  its  Candidates ; 
and  they  must  not  oppose  any  Candidate  recognized  by  the  Na- 
tional Executive  of  the  Party. 

2.  Candidates  must  undertake  to  join  the  Parliamentary  Labor 
Party,  if  elected. 

IV.  Candidatures. 

1.  A    Candidate   must   be    promoted   by    an    affiliated    Society 
which  makes  itself  responsible  for  his  election  expenses. 

2.  A  Candidate  must  be  selected  for  a  constituency  by  a  regu- 
larly   convened    Labor    Party    Conference    in    the    constituency. 
[The  Hull  Conference  accepted  the  following  as  the  interpreta- 
tion of  what  a  "  Regularly  Convened  Labor  Party  Conference  " 
is : — All  branches  of  affiliated  organizations  within  a  constituency 
or  divided  borough  covered  by  a  proposal  to  run  a  Labor  Can- 
didate  must   be   invited   to    send    delegates   to   the    Conference, 
and  the  local  organization  responsible  for  calling  the  Conference 
may,   if  it  thinks   fit,    invite   representatives    from   branches   of 
organizations  not  affiliated  but  eligible  for  affiliation.] 

3.  Before  a  Candidate  can  be  regarded  as  adopted  for  a  con- 
stituency, his  candidature  must  be  sanctioned  by  the   National 
Executive;  and  where  at  the  time  of  a  by-election  no  Candidate 
has  been  so  sanctioned,  the  National  Executive  shall  have  power 
to  withhold  its  sanction. 

V.  The  National  Executive. 

The  National  Executive  shall  consist  of  fifteen  members,  eleven 
representing  the  Trade  Unions,  one  the  Trades  Councils,  Wom- 
en's Organizations,  and  Local  Labor  Parties,  and  three  the 
Socialist  Societies,  and  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  at  the  Annual 
Conference  by  their  respective  sections. 

VI.  Duties  of  the  National  Executive. 
The  National  Executive  Committee  shall 

1.  Appoint  a   Chairman,   Vice-Chairman,   and  Treasurer,   and 
shall  transact  the  general  business  of  the  Party; 

2.  Issue  a  list  of  its  Candidates  from  time  to  time,  and  recom- 
mend them  for  the  support  of  the  electors; 

3.  Report  to  the  affiliated  organization  concerned  any  Labor 


APPENDIX  321 

Member,  Candidate,  or  Chief  Official  who  opposes  a  Candidate  of 
the  Party,  or  who  acts  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution ; 
4.  And  its  members  shall  strictly  abstain  from  identifying 
themselves  with  or  promoting  the  interests  of  any  Parliamentary 
Party  not  affiliated,  or  its  Candidates. 

VII.  The  Secretary. 

The  Secretary  shall  be  elected  by  the  Annual  Conference,  and 
shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the  National  Executive. 

VIII.  Affiliation  Fees  and  Delegates. 

1.  Trade   Unions   and    Socialist    Societies   shall    pay    153.    per 
annum  for  every  thousand  members  or  fraction  thereof,  and  may 
send  to  the  Annual  Conference  one  delegate  for  each  thousand 
members. 

2.  Trades  Councils  and  Local  Labor  Parties  with  5,000  mem- 
bers or  under  shall  be  affiliated  on  an  annual  payment  of  153.; 
similar  organizations  with  a  membership  of  over  5,000  shall  pay 
£i  ios.,  the  former  Councils  to  be  entitled  to  send  one  delegate 
with  one  vote  to  the  Annual  Conference,  the  latter  to  be  entitled 
to  send  two  delegates  and  have  two  votes. 

3.  In  addition  to  these  payments  a  delegate's  fee  to  the  Annual 
Conference  may  be  charged. 

IX.  Annual  Conference. 

The  National  Executive  shall  convene  a  Conference  of  its 
affiliated  Societies  in  the  month  of  January  each  year. 

Notice  of  resolutions  for  the  Conference  and  all  amendments 
to  the  Constitution  shall  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  by  November 
ist,  and  shall  be  forthwith  forwarded  to  all  affiliated  organiza- 
tions. 

Notice  of  amendments  and  nominations  for  Secretary  and 
National  Executive  shall  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  by  Decem- 
ber 1 5th,  and  shall  be  printed  on  the  Agenda. 

X.  Voting  at  Annual  Conference. 

There  shall  be  issued  to  affiliated  Societies  represented  at  the 
Annual  Conference  voting  cards  as  follows : 

1.  Trade    Unions    and    Socialist    Societies    shall    receive    one 
voting   card   for   each   thousand  members,   or   fraction   thereof 
paid  for. 

2.  Trades  Councils  and  Local  Labor  Parties  shall  receive  one 
card  for  each  delegate  they  are  entitled  to  send. 

Any  delegate  may  claim  to  have  a  vote  taken  by  card. 

PARLIAMENTARY  FUND 

I.  Object. 

To  assist  in  paying  the  election  expenses  of  Candidates  adopted 
in  accordance  with  this  Constitution,  in  maintaining  them  when 
elected ;  and  to  provide  the  salary  and  expenses  of  a  National 
Party  Agent. 

II.  Amount  of  Contribution. 

i.  Affiliated  Societies,  except  Trades  Councils,  and  Local  Labor 
Parties  shall  pay  a  contribution  to  this  fund  at  the  rate  of  2d. 


322  APPENDIX 

per   member  per  annum,  not  later  than   the  last  day  of  each 
financial  year. 

2.  On  all  matters  affecting  the  financial  side  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary Fund  only  contributing  Societies  shall  be  allowed  to 
vote  at  the  Annual  Conference. 

III.  Trustees. 

The  National  Executive  of  the  Party  shall,  from  its  number, 
select  three  to  act  as  Trustees,  any  two  of  whom,  with  the 
Secretary,  shall  sign  checks. 

IV.  Expenditure. 

1.  Maintenance. — All  Members  elected  under  this  Constitution 
shall  be  paid  from  the  Fund  equal  sums  not  to  exceed   £200 
per  annum,  provided  that  this  payment  shall  only  be  made  to 
Members  whose  Candidatures  have  been  promoted  by  one  or 
more  Societies  which  have  contributed  to  this  Fund;  provided 
further  that  no  payment  from  this  Fund  shall  be  made  to   a 
Member  or  Candidate  of  any  Society  which  has  not  contributed 
to  this  Fund   for  one  year,   and  that  any  Society  over  three 
months  in  arrears  shall  forfeit  all  claim  to  the  Fund  on  behalf 
of  its  Members  or  Candidates,  for  twelve  months  from  the  date 
of  payment. 

2.  Returning  Officers'  Expenses. — Twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
Returning  Officers'  net  expenses  shall  be  paid  to  the  Candidates, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  clause,  so  long  as 
the  total  sum  so  expended  does  not  exceed  twenty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  Fund. 

3.  Administration. — Five  per  cent,  of  the  Annual  Income  of  the 
Fund  shall  be  transferred  to  the  General  Funds  of  the  Party, 
to  pay  for  administrative  expenses  of  the  Fund. 


THE  INDEPENDENT  LABOR  PARTY:  CONSTITUTION 
AND  RULES,  1910-1911 

NAME 

The  Independent  Labor  Party. 

MEMBERSHIP 

Open  to  all  Socialists  who  indorse  the  principles  and  policy 
of  the  Party,  are  not  members  of  either  the  Liberal  or  Con- 
servative Party,  and  whose  application  for  membership  is  ac- 
cepted by  a  Branch. 

Any  member  expelled  from  membership  of  a  Branch  of  the 
I.L.P.  shall  not  be  eligible  for  membership  of  any  other  branch 
without  having  first  submitted  his  or  her  case  for  adjudication 
of  the  N.A.C. 

OBJECT 

The  Object  of  the  Party  is  to  establish  the  Socialist  State, 
when  land  and  capital  will  be  held  by  the  community  and  used 


APPENDIX  323 

for  the  well-being  of  the  community,  and  when  the  exchange  of 
commodities  will  be  organized  also  by  the  community,  so  as  to 
secure  the  highest  possible  standard  of  life  for  the  individual. 
In  giving  effect  to  this  object  it  shall  work  as  part  of  the  Inter- 
national Socialist  Movement. 


METHOD 

The  Party,  to  secure  its  objects,  adopts — 

1.  Educational  Methods,  including  the  publication  of  Socialist 
literature,  the  holding  of  meetings,  etc. 

2.  Political  Methods,  including  the  election  of  its  members  to 
local  and  national  administrative  and  legislative  bodies. 

PROGRAM 

The  true  object  of  industry  being  the  production  of  the  re- 
quirements of  life,  the  responsibility  should  rest  with  the  com- 
munity collectively,  therefore : — 

The  land  being  the  storehouse  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life 
should  be  declared  and  treated  as  public  property. 

The  capital  necessary  for  the  industrial  operations  should  be 
owned  and  used  collectively. 

Work,  and  wealth  resulting  therefrom,  should  be  equitably 
distributed  over  the  population. 

As  a  means  to  this  end,  we  demand  the  enactment  of  the  fol- 
lowing measures : — 

1.  A  maximum  of  48  hours'  working  week,  with  the  retention 
of  all  existing  holidays,  and  Labor  Day,  May   ist,  secured  by 
law. 

2.  The  provision  of  work  to  all  capable  adult  applicants  at 
recognized  Trade  Union  rates,  with  a  statutory  minimum  of  6d. 
per  hour. 

In  order  to  remuneratively  employ  the  applicants,  Parish, 
District,  Borough,  and  County  Councils  to  be  invested  with 
powers  to : — 

(a)  Organize  and  undertake  such  industries  as  they  may  con- 
sider desirable. 

(&)  Compulsorily  acquire  land;  purchase,  erect,  or  manufac- 
ture buildings,  stock,  or  other  articles  for  carrying  on  such 
industries. 

(c)  Levy  rates  on  the  rental  values  of  the  district,  and  borrow 
money  on  the  security  of  such  rates  for  any  of  the  above 
purposes. 

3.  State  pension  for  every  person  over  50  years  of  age,  and 
adequate  provision  for  all  widows,  orphans,  sick  and  disabled 
workers. 

4.  Free,    secular,    moral,    primary,    secondary,    and   university 
education,  with  free  maintenance  while  at  school  or  university. 

5.  The  raising  of  the  age  of  child  labor,  with  a  view  to  its 
ultimate  extinction. 


324  APPENDIX 

6.  Municipalization  and  public  control  of  the  Drink  Traffic. 

7.  Municipalization   and   public   control   of   all   hospitals   and 
infirmaries. 

8.  Abolition  of  indirect  taxation  and  the  gradual  transference 
of  all  public  burdens  on  to  unearned  incomes  with  a  view  to 
their  ultimate  extinction. 

The  Independent  Labor  Party  is  in  favor  of  adult  suffrage, 
with  full  political  rights  and  privileges  for  women,  and  the 
immediate  extension  of  the  franchise  to  women  on  the  same 
terms  as  granted  to  men;  also  triennial  Parliaments  and  second 
ballot. 

ORGANIZATION 
i. — OFFICERS 

1.  Chairman  and  Treasurer. 

2.  A   National  Administrative   Council. — To   be  composed   of 
fourteen  representatives,  in  addition  to  the  two  officers. 

3.  No  member  shall  occupy  the  office  of  Chairman  of  the  Party 
for  a  longer  consecutive  period  than  three  years,  and  he  shall 
not  be  eligible  for  re-election  for  the  same  office  for  at  least 
twelve  months  after  he  has  vacated  the  chair. 

4.  Election  of  N.A.C. — Four  members  of  the  N.A.C.  shall  be 
elected  by  ballot  at  the  Annual  Conference,  and  ten  by  the  votes 
of  members  in  ten  divisional  areas. 

5.  Duties  of  N.A.C.— 

(a)  To  meet  at  least  three  times  a  year  to  transact  business 
relative  to  the  Party. 

(&)  To  exercise  a  determining  voice  in  the  selection  of  Par- 
liamentary candidates,  and,  where  no  branch  exists,  to  choose 
such  candidates  when  necessary. 

(c)  To  raise  and  disburse  funds  for  General  and  By-Elections, 
and  for  other  objects  of  the  Party. 

(d)  To    deal    with    such    matters    of    local    dispute    between 
branches  and  members  which  may  be  referred  to  its  decision  by 
the  parties  interested. 

(e)  To  appoint  General  Secretary  and  Officials,  and  exercise 
a  supervising  control  over  their  work. 

(/)  To  engage  organizers  and  lecturers  when  convenient, 
either  permanently  or  for  varying  periods,  at  proper  wages,  and 
to  direct  and  superintend  their  work. 

(g)  To  present  to  the  Annual  Conference  a  report  on  the 
previous  year's  work  and  progress  of  the  Party. 

(/»)  To  appoint  when  necessary  sub-committees  to  deal  with 
special  branches  of  its  work,  and  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
deal  with  each  Conference  Agenda.  Such  Committee  to  revise 
and  classify  the  resolutions  sent  in  by  branches  and  to  place 
resolutions  dealing  with  important  matters  on  the  Agenda. 

(*)  It  shall  not  initiate  any  new  departure  or  policy  between 
Conferences  without  first  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  branches. 


APPENDIX  325 

(&)  Matters  arising  between  Conferences  not  provided  for 
by  the  Constitution,  shall  be  dealt  with  by  the  N.A.C. 

(/)  A  full  report  of  all  the  meetings  of  the  N.A.C.  as  held 
shall  be  forwarded  to  each  branch. 

6.  Auditor. — A  Chartered  or  Incorporated  Accountant  shall 
be  employed  to  audit  the  accounts  of  the  Party. 

II. — BRANCHES 

1.  Branch. — An   Association   which   indorses   the   objects   and 
policy  of  the  Party,  and  affiliates  in  the  prescribed  manner. 

2.  Local  Autonomy. — Subject  to   the  general   constitution   of 
the  Party,  each  Branch  shall  be  perfectly  autonomous. 

III. — FINANCES 

1.  Branches  shall  pay  one  penny  per  member  per  month  to 
the  N.A.C. 

2.  The  N.A.C.  may  strike  off  the  list  of  branches  any  branch 
which  is  more  than  6  months  in  arrears  with  its  payments. 

3.  The  N.A.C.  may  receive  donations  or  subscriptions  to  the 
funds  of  the  Party.     It  shall  not  receive  moneys  which  are  con- 
tributed upon  terms  which  interfere  in  any  way  with  its  free- 
dom of  action  as  to  their  disbursement. 

4.  The  financial  year  of  the  Party  shall  begin  on  March  ist, 
and  end  on  the  last  day  of  February  next  succeeding. 

IV. — ANNUAL  CONFERENCE 

1.  The  Annual  Conference  is  the  ultimate  authority  of  the 
Party,  to  which  all  final  appeals  shall  be  made. 

2.  Date. — It  shall  be  held  at  Easter. 

3.  Special    Conferences. — A    Special    Conference   shall    always 
be  called  prior  to  a  General  Election,  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining the  policy  of  the  Party  during  the  election.     Other 
Special  Conferences  may  be  called  by  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
of  the  members  of  the  N.A.C.,  or  by  one-third  of  the  branches 
of  the  Party. 

4.  Conference    Fee. — A    Conference    Fee    per    delegate    (the 
amount  to  be  fixed  by  the  N.A.C.)  shall  be  paid  by  all  branches 
desiring  representation,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  February 
in  each  year. 

5.  No  branch  shall  be  represented  which  was  not  in  existence 
on  the  December  3ist  immediately  preceding  the   date   of  the 
Annual  Conference. 

6.  Branches  of  the  Party  may  send  one  delegate  to  Conference 
for  each  fifty  members,  or  part  thereof.     Branches  may  appoint 
one   delegate   to   represent   their    full   voting   strength.      Should 
there  be  two  or  more  branches  which  are  unable  separately  to 
send  delegates  to  Conference,  they  may  jointly  do  so. 

7.  Delegates  must  have  been  members  of  the  branch  they  repre- 


326  APPENDIX 

sent  from  December  3ist  immediately  preceding  the  date  of  the 
Conference. 

8.  Notices  respecting  resolutions  shall  be  posted  to  branches 
not  later  than  January  3d.     Resolutions   for  the   Agenda,   and 
nominations   for  officers  and  N.A.C.   shall  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  General  Secretary  eight  weeks  before  the  date  of  the  Annual 
Conference,  and  issued  to  the  branches  a  fortnight  later.    Amend- 
ments to  resolutions  on  the  Agenda  and  additional  nominations 
may  be  sent  to   the   Secretary   four  weeks  before  Conference, 
and  they  shall  be  arranged  on  the  final  Agenda,  which  shall  be 
issued   to  branches  two  weeks  before   Conference.     A  balance 
sheet  shall  be  issued  to  branches  two  weeks  before  the  Con- 
ference, showing  the  receipts  and  expenditure  of  the  Party  for 
the  year,  also  the  number  of  branches  affiliated  and  the  amount 
each  branch  has  paid  in  affiliation  fees  during  the  year. 

9.  The  Chairman  of  the  Party  for  the  preceding  year  shall 
preside  over  the  Conference. 

10.  Conference   Officials. — The   first   business   of   the    Confer- 
ence  shall  be   the  appointment  of  tellers.     It   shall   next   elect 
a    Standing    Orders    Committee,    with    power    to    examine    the 
credentials  of  delegates,  and  to  deal  with  special  business  which 
may  be  delegated  to  it  by  the  Conference. 

11.  In  case  any  vacancy  occurs  on  the  N.A.C.  between  Con- 
ferences, the  unsuccessful  candidate  receiving  the  largest  num- 
ber  of   votes   at   the   preceding   election   shall   fill   the   vacancy. 
Vacancies  in  the  list  of  officers  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  vote 
of  the  branches. 

12.  The  principle  of  the  second  ballot  shall  be  observed  in  all 
elections. 

13.  The  Conference  shall  choose  in  which  Divisional  Area  the 
next  Conference  shall  be  held. 


V. — PARLIAMENTARY  CANDIDATES 

1.  The  N.A.C.  shall  keep  a  list  of  members  of  the  Party  from 
which  candidates  may  be  selected  by  branches. 

2.  Any  Branch  at  any  time  may  nominate  any  eligible  member 
of  the  Party  to  be  placed  upon  that  list. 

3.  The  N.A.C.  itself  may  place  names  on  the  list. 

4.  No  person  shall  be  placed  upon  this  list  unless  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Party  for  at  least  twelve  months. 

5.  Branches   desiring  to   place  a  candidate  in   their  constitu- 
encies must  in  the  first  instance  communicate  with  the  N.A.C., 
and  have  the  candidate   selected   at  a  properly  convened   con- 
ference of  representatives  of  the  local  branches  of  all  societies 
affiliated  with  the  Labor   Party,  so  that  the  candidate  may  be 
chosen  in  accordance  with  the  constitution  of  the  Labor  Party. 
The  N.A.C.  shall  have  power  to  suspend  this  clause  where  local 
or  other  circumstances  appear  to  justify  such  a  course. 

6.  Before   the   N.A.C.    sanctions    any   candidature   it   shall   be 
entitled  to  secure  guarantees  of  adequate  local  financial  support. 


APPENDIX  327 

7.  No  Branch  shall  take  any  action  which  affects  prejudicially 
the   position   or   prospects    of   a    Parliamentary    candidate,   who 
has  received  the  credentials  of  the  Labor  Party,  without  first 
laying  the  case  before  the  N.A.C. 

8.  Each  candidate  must  undertake  that  he  will  run  his  election 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  and  policy  of  the  Party,  and 
that  if  elected  he  will  support  the  Party  on  all  questions  coming 
within  the  scope  of  the  principles  of  the  I.L.P. 


The  Constitution  shall  not  be  altered  or  amended  except  every 
third  year,  unless  upon  the  requisition  of  two-thirds  of  the 
N.A.C.  or  one-third  of  the  branches  of  the  Party,  when  the 
proposed  alterations  or  amendments  shall  be  considered  at  the 
following  Conference. — Resolution,  Edinburgh,  1909. 

BASIS  OF  THE  FABIAN  SOCIETY 

THE  Fabian  Society  consists  of  Socialists. 

It  therefore  aims  at  the  re-organization  of  society  by  the 
emancipation  of  land  and  industrial  capital  from  individual  and 
class  ownership,  and  the  vesting  of  them  in  the  community  for 
the  general  benefit.  In  this  way  only  can  the  natural  and 
acquired  advantages  of  the  country  be  equitably  shared  by  the 
whole  people. 

The  Society  accordingly  works  for  the  extinction  of  private 
property  in  land  and  of  the  consequent  individual  appropriation, 
in  the  form  of  rent,  of  the  price  paid  for  permission  to  use  the 
earth,  as  well  as  for  the  advantages  of  superior  soils  and  sites. 

The  Society,  further,  works  for  the  transfer  to  the  com- 
munity of  the  administration  of  such  industrial  capital  as  can 
conveniently  be  managed  socially.  For,  owing  to  the  monopoly 
of  the  means  of  production  in  the  past,  industrial  inventions 
and  the  transformation  of  surplus  income  into  capital  have 
mainly  enriched  the  proprietary  class,  the  worker  being  now 
dependent  on  that  class  for  leave  to  earn  a  living. 

If  these  measures  be  carried  out,  without  compensation 
(though  not  without  such  relief  to  expropriated  individuals  as 
may  seem  fit  to  the  community),  rent  and  interest  will  be 
added  to  the  reward  of  labor,  the  idle  class  now  living  on  the 
labor  of  others  will  necessarily  disappear,  and  practical  equality 
of  opportunity  will  be  maintained  by  the  spontaneous  action 
of  economic  forces  with  much  less  interference  with  personal 
liberty  than  the  present  system  entails. 

For  the  attainment  of  these  ends  the  Fabian  Society  looks 
to  the  spread  of  Socialist  opinions,  and  the  social  and  political 
changes  consequent  thereon.  It  seeks  to  promote  these  by  the 
general  dissemination  of  knowledge  as  to  the  relation  between 
the  individual  and  society  in  its  economic,  ethical,  and  political 
aspects. 


328  APPENDIX 

The  following  questions  are  addressed  to  Parliamentary  can- 
didates by  the  Fabians: 

Will  you  press  at  the  first  opportunity  for  the  following 
reforms : — 

I. — A  Labor  Program 

1.  The   extension   of    the   Workmen's   Compensation    Act   to 
seamen,  and  to  all  other  classes  of  wage  earners? 

2.  Compulsory    arbitration,    as    in    New    Zealand,    to    prevent 
strikes  and  lockouts? 

3.  A  statutory  minimum  wage,  as  in  Victoria,  especially  for 
sweated  trades? 

4.  The  fixing  of  "  an  eight-hours'  day "  as  the  maximum  for 
all    public    servants;    and    the    abolition,    wherever   possible,    of 
overtime  ? 

5.  An  Eight-Hours'  Bill,  without  an  option  clause,  for  miners; 
and,  for  railway  servants,  a  forty-eight-hours'  week? 

6.  The   drastic   amendment   of   the   Factory   Acts,   to    secure 
(a)   a  safe  and  healthy  work-place  for  every  worker,    (&)   the 
prevention    of    overwork    for    all    women    and    young    persons, 
(c)   the  abolition  of  all  wage-labor  by  children  under   14,    (d) 
compulsory  technical  instruction  by  extension  of  the  half-time 
arrangements  to  all  workers  under  18? 

7.  The   direct  employment  of   labor  by  all  public  authorities 
whenever  possible;  and,  whenever  it  is  not  possible,  employment 
only  of  fair  houses,  prohibition  of  sub-contracting,  and  payment 
of  trade-union  rates  of  wages? 

8.  The  amendment  of  the  Merchant  Shipping  Acts  so  as  (a)  to 
secure  healthy  sleeping  and  living  accommodation,    (fr)   to  pro- 
tect  the   seaman   against   withholding  of   his    wages   or   return 
passage,  (c)  to  insure  him  against  loss  by  shipwreck? 

II. — A  Democratic  Budget 

g.  The  further  taxation  of  unearned  incomes  by  means  of 
a  graduated  and  differentiated  income-tax? 

10.  The  abolition  of  all  duties  on  tea,  cocoa,  coffee,  currants, 
and  other  dried  fruits? 

11.  An  increase  of  the  scale  of  graduation  of  the  death  duties, 
so  as  to  fall  more  heavily  on  large  inheritances? 

12.  The  appropriation  of  the  unearned  increment  by  the  taxa- 
tion and  rating  of  ground  values? 

13.  The  nationalization  of  mining  rents  and  royalties? 

14.  Transfer  of  the  railways  to  the  State  under  the  Act  of 
1844? 

III. — Social  Reform  in  Town  and  Country 

15.  The  extension  of  full  powers  to  parish,  town,  and  county 
councils  for  the  collective  organization  of  the  (a)  water,  (&)  gas 
and    (c)    electric   lighting   supplies,    (d)    hydraulic   power,    (e) 


APPENDIX  329 

tramways  and  light  railways,  (/)  public  slaughter-houses,  (g) 
pawnshops,  (h)  sale  of  milk,  («)  bread,  (/)  coal,  and  such  other 
public  services  as  may  be  desired  by  the  inhabitants  ? 

16.  Reform  of  the  drink  traffic  by  (a)  reduction  of  the  number 
of  licenses  to  a  proper  ratio  to  the  population  of  each  locality, 
(&)  transfer  to  public  purposes  of  the  special  value  of  licenses, 
created  by  the  existing  monopoly,  by  means  of  high  license  or 
a  license  rate,  (c)  grant  of  power  to  local  authorities  to  carry 
on    municipal   public    houses,    directly    or    on    the    Gothenburg 
system? 

17.  Amendment  of  the  Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  Act 
by  (a)  extension  of  period  of  loans  to  one  hundred  years,  treat- 
ment of  land  as  an  asset,  and  removal  of  statutory  limitation 
of  borrowing  powers  for  housing,   (b)    removal  of  restrictions 
on    rural   district   councils   in   adopting    Part    III.    of    the   Act, 
(c)  grant  of  power  to  parish  councils  to  adopt  Part  III.  of  the 
Act,  (rf)  power  to  all  local  authorities  to  buy  land  compulsorily 
under  the  allotments  clauses  of  the  Local  Government  Act,  1894, 
or  in  any  other  effective  manner? 

18.  The  grant  of  power  to  all  local  bodies  to  retain  the  free- 
hold of  any  land  that  may  come  into  their  possession,  without 
obligation  to  sell,  or  to  use  for  particular  purposes? 

19.  The  relief  of  the  existing  taxpayer, by   (a)   imposing,  for 
local    purposes,   a   municipal   death   duty   on   local   real    estate, 
collected  in  the  same  way  as  the  existing  death  duties,  (&)  col- 
lecting rates  from  the  owners  of  empty  houses  and  vacant  land, 
(c)  power  to  assess  land  and  houses  at  four  per  cent,  on  the 
capital    value,    (d)    securing    special    contributions    by    way    of 
"  betterment "  from  the  owners  of  property  benefited  by  public 
improvements  ? 

20.  The  further  equalization  of  the  rates  in  London? 

21.  The  compulsory  provision  by  every  local  authority  'of  ade- 
quate hospital  accommodation  for  all  diseases  and  accidents? 

IV. — The  Children  and  the  Poor 

22.  The  prohibition  of  the  industrial  or  wage-earning  employ- 
ment of  children  during  school  terms  prior  to  the  age  of  14? 

23.  The  provision  of  meals,  out  of  public  funds,   for  neces- 
sitous children  in  public  elementary  schools? 

24.  The  training  of  teachers   under  public  control   and   free 
from  sectarian  influences? 

25.  The  creation   of   a  complete   system   of   public   secondary 
education  genuinely  available  to  the  children  of  the  poor? 

26.  State  pensions  for  the  support  of  the  aged  or  chronically 
infirm? 

V. — Democratic  Political  Machinery 

27.  An   amendment   of   the   registration    laws,   with   the   aim 
of  giving  every  adult  man  a  vote,  and  no  one  more  than  one 
vote? 


330  APPENDIX 

28.  A  redistribution  of  seats  in  accordance  with  population? 

29.  The  grant  of  the  franchise  to  women  on  the  same  terms 
as  to  men? 

30.  The  admission  of  women  to  seats  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons and  on  borough  and  county  councils  ? 

31.  The  second  ballot  at  Parliamentary  and  other  elections? 

32.  The  payment  of  all  members  of  Parliament  and  of  Par- 
liamentary election  expenses,  out  of  public  funds? 

33.  Triennial  Parliaments? 

34.  All  Parliamentary  elections  to  be  held  on  the  same  day? 


OBJECT 

THE  Socialization  of  the  Means  of  Production,  Distribution, 
and  Exchange,  to  be  controlled  by  a  Democratic  State  in  the 
interests  of  the  entire  community,  and  the  complete  Emancipation 
of  Labor  from  the  Domination  of  Capitalism  and  Landlordism, 
with  the  establishment  of  Social  and  Economic  Equality  between 
the  Sexes. 

The  economic  development  of  modern  society  is  characterized 
by  the  more  or  less  complete  domination  of  the  capitalistic  mode 
of  production  over  all  branches  of  human  labor. 

The  capitalistic  mode  of  production,  because  it  has  the  creation 
of  profit  for  its  sole  object,  therefore  favors  the  larger  capital, 
and  is  based  upon  the  divorcement  of  the  majority  of  the  people 
from  the  instruments  of  production  and  the  concentration  of 
these  instruments  in  the  hands  of  a  minority.  Society  is  thus 
divided  into  two  opposite  classes :  one,  the  capitalists  and  their 
sleeping  partners,  the  landlords  and  loanmongers,  holding  in 
their  hands  the  means  of  production,  distribution,  and  exchange, 
and  being,  therefore,  able  to  command  the  labor  of  others ;  the 
other,  the  working-class,  the  wage-earners,  the  proletariat,  pos- 
sessing nothing  but  their  labor-power,  and  being  consequently 
forced  by  necessity  to  work  for  the  former. 

The  social  division  thus  produced  becomes  wider  and  deeper 
with  every  new  advance  in  the  application  of  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery. It  is  most  clearly  recognizable,  however,  in  the  times 
of  industrial  and  commercial  crises,  when,  in  consequence  of 
the  present  chaotic  conditions  of  carrying  on  national  and  inter- 
national industry,  production  periodically  comes  to  a  standstill, 
and  a  number  of  the  few  remaining  independent  producers 
are  thrown  into  the  ranks  of  the  proletariat.  Thus,  while  on 
one  hand  there  is  incessantly  going  on  an  accumulation  of 
capital,  wealth,  and  power  into  a  steadily  diminishing  number 
of  hands,  there  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  constantly  growing 
insecurity  of  livelihood  for  the  mass  of  wage-earners,  an  in- 
creasing disparity  between  human  wants  and  the  opportunity 


APPENDIX  331 

of  acquiring  the  means  for  their  satisfaction,  and  a  steady 
physical  and  mental  deterioration  among  the  more  poverty- 
stricken  of  the  population. 

But  the  more  this  social  division  widens,  the  stronger  grows 
the  revolt — more  conscious  abroad  than  here — of  the  proletariat 
against  the  capitalist  system  of  society  in  which  this  division 
and  all  that  accompanies  it  have  originated,  and  find  such 
fruitful  soil.  The  capitalist  mode  of  production,  by  massing  the 
workers  in  large  factories,  and  creating  an  interdependence,  not 
only  between  various  trades  and  branches  of  industries,  but 
even  national  industries,  prepares  the  ground  and  furnishes 
material  for  a  universal  class  war.  That  class  war  may  at  first — 
as  in  this  country — be  directed  against  the  abuses  of  the  system, 
and  not  against  the  system  itself ;  but  sooner  or  later  the  workers 
must  come  to  recognize  that  nothing  short  of  the  expropriation 
of  the  capitalist  class,  the  ownership  by  the  community  of  the 
means  of  production,  distribution,  and  exchange,  can  put  an 
end  to  their  abject  economic  condition;  and  then  the  class 
war  will  become  conscious  instead  of  unconscious  on  the  part 
of  the  working-classes,  and  they  will  have  for  their  ultimate 
object  the  overthrow  of  the  capitalist  system.  At  the  same 
time,  since  the  capitalist  class  holds  and  uses  the  power  of 
the  State  to  safeguard  its  position  and  beat  off  any  attack, 
the  class  war  must  assume  a  political  character,  and  become  a 
struggle  on  the  part  of  the  workers  for  the  possession  of  the 
political  machinery. 

It  is  this  struggle  for  the  conquest  of  the  political  power 
of  the  State,  in  order  to  effect  a  social  transformation,  which 
International  Social  Democracy  carries  on  in  the  name  and 
on  behalf  of  the  working-class.  Social  Democracy,  therefore, 
is  the  only  possible  political  party  of  the  proletariat.  The  Social 
Democratic  Federation  is  a  part  of  this  International  Social 
Democracy.  It,  therefore,  takes  its  stand  on  the  above  principles, 
and  believes — 

1.  That  the   emancipation  of  the  working-class   can  only  be 
achieved  through  the  socialization  of  the  means  of  production, 
distribution,  and  exchange,  and  their  subsequent  control  by  the 
organized  community  in  the  interests  of  the  whole  people. 

2.  That,  as  the  proletariat  is  the  last  class  to  achieve  freedom, 
its   emancipation  will  mean  the  emancipation   of  the  whole  of 
mankind,  without  distinction  of  race,  nationality,  creed,  or  sex. 

3.  That    this    emancipation    can    only    be    the    work    of    the 
working-class    itself,    organized    nationally    and    internationally 
into   a   distinct   political   party,    consciously    striving   after    the 
realization  of  its  ideals;  and,  finally, 

4.  That,  in  order  to  insure  greater  material  and  moral  facili- 
ties  for  the  working-class  to  organize  itself  and  to  carry  on 
the  class  war,  the  following  reforms  must  immediately  be  carried 
through : — 


332  APPENDIX 

IMMEDIATE  REFORMS 

Political 

Abolition  of  the  Monarchy. 

Democratization  of  the  Governmental  machinery,  viz.,  aboli- 
tion of  the  House  of  Lords,  payment  of  members  of  legislative 
and  administrative  bodies,  payment  of  official  expenses  of  elec- 
tions out  of  the  public  funds,  adult  suffrage,  proportional  repre- 
sentation, triennial  parliaments,  second  ballot,  initiative  and 
referendum.  Foreigners  to  be  granted  rights  of  citizenship  after 
two  years'  residence  in  the  country,  without  any  fees.  Can- 
vassing to  be  made  illegal.  All  elections  to  take  place  on  one 
day,  such  day  to  be  made  a  legal  holiday,  and  all  premises 
licensed  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  to  be  closed. 

Legislation  by  the  people  in  such  wise  that  no  legislative 
proposal  shall  become  law  until  ratified  by  the  majority  of  the 
people. 

Legislative  and  administrative  independence  for  all  parts  of 
the  Empire. 

Financial  and  Fiscal 

Repudiation  of  the  National  Debt. 

Abolition  of  all  indirect  taxation  and  the  institution  of  a 
cumulative  tax  on  all  incomes  and  inheritance  exceeding  £300. 

Administrative 

Extension  of  the  principle  of  local  self-government. 

Systematization  and  co-ordination  of  the  local  administrative 
bodies. 

Election  of  all  administrators  and  administrative  bodies  by 
equal  direct  adult  suffrage. 

Educational 

Elementary  education  to  be  free,  secular,  industrial,  and  com- 
pulsory for  all  classes.  The  age  of  obligatory  school  attendance 
to  be  raised  to  16. 

Unification  and  systematization  of  intermediate  and  higher 
education,  both  general  and  technical,  and  all  such  education 
to  be  free. 

State  maintenance  for  all  attending  State  schools. 

Abolition  of  school  rates;  the  cost  of  education  in  all  State 
schools  to  be  borne  by  the  National  Exchequer. 

Public  Monopolies  and  Services 

Nationalization  of  the  land  and  the  organization  of  labor 
in  agriculture  and  industry  under  public  ownership  and  control 
on  co-operative  principles. 


APPENDIX  333 

Nationalization  of  the  trusts. 

Nationalization  of  railways,  docks,  and  canals,  and  all  great 
means  of  transit. 

Public  ownership  and  control  of  gas,  electric  light,  and  water 
supplies,  as  well  as  of  tramway,  omnibus,  and  other  locomotive 
services. 

Public  ownership  and  control  of  the  food  and  coal  supply. 

The  establishment  of  State  and  municipal  banks  and  pawn- 
shops and  public  restaurants. 

Public  ownership  and  control  of  the  lifeboat  service. 

Public  ownership  and  control  of  hospitals,  dispensaries,  ceme- 
teries, and  crematoria. 

Public  ownership  and  control  of  the  drink  traffic. 

Labor 

A  legislative  eight-hour  working-day,  or  48  hours  per  week, 
to  be  the  maximum  for  all  trades  and  industries.  Imprisonment 
to  be  inflicted  on  employers  for  any  infringement  of  the  law. 

Absolute  freedom  of  combination  for  all  workers,  with  legal 
guarantee  against  any  action,  private  or  public,  which  tends  to 
curtail  or  infringe  it. 

No  child  to  be  employed  in  any  trade  or  occupation  until 
16  years  of  age,  and  imprisonment  to  be  inflicted  on  employers, 
parents,  and  guardians  who  infringe  this  law. 

Public  provision  of  useful  work  at  not  less  than  trade-union 
rates  of  wages  for  the  unemployed. 

Free  State  insurance  against  sickness  and  accident,  and  free 
and  adequate  State  pensions  or  provision  for  aged  and  disabled 
workers.  Public  assistance  not  to  entail  any  forfeiture  of  po- 
litical rights. 

The  legislative  enactment  of  a  minimum  wage  of  303.  for 
all  workers.  Equal  pay  for  both  sexes  for  the  performance  of 
equal  work. 

Social 

Abolition  of  the  present  workhouse  system,  and  reformed 
administration  of  the  Poor  Law  on  a  basis  of  national  co- 
operation. 

Compulsory  construction  by  public  bodies  of  healthy  dwellings 
for  the  people;  such  dwellings  to  be  let  at  rents  to  cover  the 
cost  of  construction  and  maintenance  alone,  and  not  to  cover 
the  cost  of  the  land. 

The  administration  of  justice  and  legal  advice  to  be  free  to 
all;  justice  to  be  administered  by  judges  chosen  by  the  people; 
appeal  in  criminal  cases;  compensation  for  those  innocently  ac- 
cused, condemned,  and  imprisoned ;  abolition  of  imprisonment 
for  contempt  of  court  in  relation  to  non-payment  of  debt  in  the 
case  of  workers  earning  less  than  £2  per  week;  abolition  of 
capital  punishment. 


334  APPENDIX 


Miscellaneous 

The  disestablishment  and  disendowment  of  all  State  churches. 

The  abolition  of  standing  armies,  and  the  establishment  of 
national  citizen  forces.  The  people  to  decide  on  peace  and 
war. 

The  establishment  of  international  courts  of  arbitration. 

The  abolition  of  courts-martial;  all  offenses  against  discipline 
to  be  transferred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  civil  courts. 


THE  LABOR  PARTY:   SESSION  OF  PARLIAMENT, 
1911-1912 

[At  the  beginning  of  every  session  of  Parliament,  the  Labor 
Party  members  agree  on  a  program  of  procedure  to  which  they 
adhere  for  that  session.  They  stick  to  the  bills,  in  the  order 
chosen,  until  they  are  either  passed  or  defeated.  The  following 
is  the  list  for  1911.] 

Bills  to  be  balloted  for  in  order  named : 

1.  Trade  Union  Amendment  Bill. 

2.  Unemployed  Workmen  Bill. 

3.  Education  (Administrative  Provisions)  Bill. 

4.  Electoral  Reform  Bill. 

5.  Eight-Hour  Day  Bill. 

6.  Bill  to  Provide  against  Eviction  of  Workmen  during  Trade 

Disputes. 

7.  Railway  Nationalization  Bill. 
Motions  to  be  balloted  for  in  order  named : 

1.  Militarism   and   Foreign    Policy:    (on   lines   of   Resolution 

passed  by  the  Special  Conference  at  Leicester). 

2.  Defect  in  Sheriffs'  Courts  Bill  (Scotland)  relating  to  power 

of  Eviction  during  Trade  Disputes. 

3.  General  303.  Minimum  Wage. 

Other   Motions   from  which  selection  may  be  made  after  the 

three  foregoing  subjects  have  been  dealt  with: 
Saturday  to  Monday  Stop. 
Eviction  of  Workmen  during  Trade  Disputes. 
Extension  of  Particulars  Clause  to  Docks,  etc. 
Nationalization  of  Hospitals. 
Adult  Suffrage. 

Commission  of  Inquiry  into  Older  Universities. 
Workmen's  Compensation  Amendment. 
Atmosphere  and  Dust  in  Textile  Factories. 
System  of  Fines  in  Textile  and  Other  Trades. 
Inclusion  of  Clerks  in  Factory  Acts. 
Eight-Hour  Day. 
Electoral  Reform. 
Inquiry  into  Industrial  Assurance. 


APPENDIX  335 


Poor  Law  Reform. 

Truck. 

Railway  and  Mining  Accidents. 

Labor  Exchanges  Administration. 

Labor  Ministry. 

Veto  Conference. 

Day  Training  Classes. 

School  Clinics. 

Indian  Factory  Laws. 

Hours  in  Bakehouses. 

House-letting  in  Scotland. 


FABIAN  ELECTION  ADDRESS 

[The  following  is  an  election  broadside  issued  for  the  munici- 
pal election  of  London,  soon  after  the  establishment  of  municipal 
home  rule  for  the  metropolis,  by  the  organization  of  the  London 
County  Council.  It  discloses  the  practical  nature  of  the  earlier 
Fabian  political  activities.] 

COUNTY  COUNCIL  ELECTION  :  ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SIDNEY  WEBB, 
LL.B.  (LONDON  UNIVERSITY),  (PROGRESSIVE  AND  LABOR  CAN- 
DIDATE) 

Central  Committee  Rooms, 

484,  New  Cross  Road,  S.E. 
ELECTORS  OF  DEPTFORD, 

On  the  nomination  of  a  Joint  Committee  of  Delegates  of 
the  Liberal  and  Radical  Association,  the  Women's  Liberal  As- 
sociation, the  Working  Men's  Clubs,  and  leading  Trade  Union- 
ists and  Social  Reformers  in  Deptford,  I  come  forward  as  a 
Candidate  for  the  County  Council  Election.  I  shall  seek  to  lift 
the  contest  above  any  narrow  partisan  lines,  and  I  ask  for  the 
support  of  all  who  are  interested  in  the  well-being  of  the  people. 

The  Point  at  Issue 

For  much  is  at  stake  for  London  at  this  Election.  Notwith- 
standing the  creation  of  the  County  Council,  the  ratepayers  of 
the  Metropolis  are  still  deprived  of  the  ordinary  powers  of 
municipal  self-government.  They  have  to  bear  needlessly  heavy 
burdens  for  a  very  defective  management  of  their  public  affairs. 
The  result  is  seen  in  the  poverty,  the  misery,  and  the  intem- 
perance that  disgrace  our  city.  A  really  Progressive  County 
Council  can  do  much  (as  the  present  Council  has  shown),  both 
immediately  to  benefit  the  people  of  London,  and  also  to  win 
for  them  genuine  self-government.  Do  you  wish  your  County 
Council  to  attempt  nothing  more  for  London  than  the  old  Metro- 
politan Board  of  Works?  This  is,  in  effect,  the  Reactionary,  or 
so-called  "  Moderate,"  program.  Or  shall  we  make  our  County 


336  APPENDIX 

Council  a  mighty  instrument  of  the  people's  will  for  the  social 
regeneration  of  this  great  city,  and  the  "  Government  of  London 
by  London  for  London  ?  "  That  is  what  I  stand  for. 

Relief  of  the  Taxpayer 

But  the  crushing  burden  of  the  occupier's  rates  must  be  re- 
duced, not  increased.  Even  with  the  strictest  economy  the 
administration  of  a  growing  city  must  be  a  heavy  burden.  The 
County  Council  should  have  power  to  tax  the  ground  landlord, 
who  now  pays  no  rates  at  all  directly.  Moreover,  the  rates 
must  be  equalized  throughout  London.  Why  should  the  Dept- 
ford  ratepayer  have  to  pay  nearly  two  shillings  in  the  pound 
more  than  the  inhabitant  of  St.  George's,  Hanover  Square?  And 
we  must  get  at  the  unearned  increment  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  of  London,  who  create  it. 

A  Labor  Program 

I  am  in  favor  of  Trade  Union  wages  and  an  eight-hours  day 
for  all  persons  employed  by  the  Council.  I  am  dead  against 
sub-contracting,  and  would  like  to  see  the  Council  itself  the 
direct  employer  of  all  labor. 

Municipalisa  tion 

At  present  London  pays  an  utterly  unnecessary  annual  tribute, 
because,  unlike  other  towns,  it  leaves  its  water  supply,  its  gas- 
works, its  tramways,  its  markets,  and  its  docks  in  the  hands  of 
private  speculators.  I  am  in  favor  of  replacing  private  by 
Democratic  public  ownership  and  management,  as  soon  and  as 
far  as  safely  possible.  It  is  especially  urgent  to  secure  public 
control  of  the  water  supply,  the  tramways,  and  the  docks.  More- 
over, London  ought  to  manage  its  own  police,  and  all  its  open 
spaces. 

The  Condition  of  the  Poor 

But  the  main  object  of  all  our  endeavors  must  be  to  raise  the 
standard  of  life  of  our  poorer  fellow-citizens,  now  crushed  by 
the  competitive  struggle.  As  one  of  the  most  urgent  social 
reforms,  especially  in  the  interests  of  Temperance,  I  urge  the 
better  housing  of  the  people;  the  provision,  by  the  Council 
itself,  of  improved  dwellings  and  common  lodging-houses  of 
the  best  possible  types,  and  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  sanitary 
laws  against  the  owners  of  slum  property. 

Local  Questions 

I  believe  in  local  attention  to  local  grievances,  and  I  should 
deem  it  my  duty,  if  elected,  to  look  closely  after  Deptford  inter- 


APPENDIX  337 

ests,  especially  with  regard  to  the  need  for  more  open  spaces, 
and  the  early  completion  of  the  new  Thames  tunnel. 

A  more  detailed  account  of  my  views  may  be  found  in  my 
book,  "  The  London  Programme,"  and  other  writings.  I  am  a 
Londoner  born  and  bred,  and  have  made  London  questions  the 
chief  study  of  my  life.  I  have  had  thirteen  years'  administrative 
experience  in  a  Government  office,  a  position  which  I  have  re- 
signed in  order  to  give  my  whole  time  to  London's  service. 
With  regard  to  my  general  opinions,  it  will  be  enough  to  say 
that  I  have  long  been  an  active  member  of  the  Fabian  Society, 
and  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  London  Liberal  and 
Radical  Union. 

SIDNEY  WEBB.- 

4,  Park  Village  East,  Regent's  Park,  N.W. 

The  following  meetings  have  already  been  arranged.  Others 
will  be  announced  shortly. 

February  n. — Lecture  Hall,  High  Street,  at  8  P.M. 
February  25. — Lecture  Hall  High  Street,  at  8  P.M. 
March  3. — New  Cross  Hall,  Lewisham  High  Road,  at  8  P.M. 


FABIAN  ELECTION  DODGER 

[The  Fabians  and  other  Socialists  broke  into  London  munici- 
pal politics  under  the  name  "  Progressives."  The  following  is 
one  of  their  earliest  election  dodgers.] 

COUNTY  COUNCIL  ELECTION 

Saturday,  March  5,  1892 

Part  of  the 

PROGRAM  OF  THE  PROGRESSIVES 

Rates. — Reduce  the  Occupiers'  Rates  one-half,  by  charging 
that  portion  upon  the  great  Landlords,  whose  ground  values  are 
increased  by  every  improvement,  and  are  now  untaxed ;  and  by 
a  Municipal  Death  Duty. 

Gas  and  Water. — Reduce  the  cost  and  improve  the  quality  and 
quantity  by  new  sources  of  supply,  if  the  present  Companies 
will  not  come  to  terms  favorable  to  the  Taxpayer. 

City  Companies. — Apply  their  whole  Income  of,  say  £500,000 
(on  leave  obtained  from  the  new  Parliament),  for  the  benefit 
of  London.  The  Royal  Commission  of  1884  stated  that  this 
Income  is  virtually  Public  Property.  About  £300,000  is  now 
squandered  each  year  among  the  members  and  their  friends. 

Homes  for  the  Poor. — The  Poor  can  all  be  comfortably  housed, 
as  in  the  Municipal  Dwellings  of  Glasgow  and  Liverpool,  with- 
out extra  cost  to  the  Taxpayer,  and  the  "  Doss-houses "  abol- 
ished. 


338  APPENDIX 

Cheap  Food. — By  doing  away  with  the  Market  Monopolies  of 
the  City  Corporation  and  other  private  owners,  Food  can  be 
lowered  in  price.  Good  food,  especially  fish,  is  now  often  de- 
stroyed or  sold  for  manure  to  keep  up  the  price. 

Poor  Man's  Vote. — One-third  of  your  Votes  are  lost.  The 
Registration  Laws  must  be  thoroughly  altered. 


VI.  GENERAL 


i.  ORIGIN  OF  THE  WORD  "COLLECTIVISM" 

"  THIS  word,  invented  by  Colins,  came  into  common  use 
toward  the  end  of  the  Empire.  Bakunin  used  it  in  the  congress 
at  Berne  in  1868,  to  oppose  it  to  the  communistic  regime  of 
Cabet.  An  economist  in  1869  designated,  under  this  name,  the 
system  under  which  production  will  be  confined  to  communes 
or  parishes.  The  Socialists  who  opposed  authority,  disciples  of 
Bakunin,  used  the  word  for  a  long  time  to  designate  their  doc- 
trine. The  section  of  Locle  was  one  of  the  first  to  employ  it. 
But  by  and  by,  about  1878,  the  Marxists,  partisans  of  the  pro- 
letarian reign,  used  the  word  '  collectivism '  to  distinguish  their 
'  scientific  Socialism,'  of  which  term  they  were  fond,  from  the 
communistic  Utopias  of  the  older  school,  which  they  discovered. 
And  they  gave  to  Bakunins  the  name  Anarchists.  These  accepted 
the  name,  taking  care  to  write  it  with  a  hyphen,  an-archie,  as 
their  master  Proudhon  had  done.  They  soon  dropped  the 
hyphen  and  accepted  the  word  anarchy  as  a  declaration  of  war 
against  all  things  as  they  are."  1 

2.  TABLE  SHOWING  RESULTS  OF  PARLIAMENTARY 
ELECTIONS 


Country 

No.  Socialist 
Votes 

Total  No. 
Seats  in 
Parlia- 
ment 

No.  Seats 
Held  by 
Socialists 

Per  cent,  of 
Socialist 
Seats 

Great  Britain  (1910)  

Germany  (1912)  

' 

?R   RT 

Luxemburg  (1909)  

4i   5  i 

397 

Austria  (1907)  

I  OJ.1  0^8 

f 

88 

Prance  (1910)  

cgj 

16 

*" 

o-jft  RRc 

Spain  (1910)  

Russia  

*   ' 

1 

0.25 

Finland  (1910)  

86 

Norway  (1907)  

Sweden  (1909)   

«T*/w\ 

rfit 

,5 

Denmark  (1910)  

Holland  (1909)  

Belgium  (1910)  

166 

Switzerland  (1908)  
Turkey  (1908)  

100,000 

170 

6 

4.11 

*.o6 

Servia  (1908)  

100 

U.  S.  A.  (1910)  

1  GEORGES  WEIL,  Histoire  du  Mouvement  Social  en  France,  p.  ao8. 

339 


340 


APPENDIX 


IN  1910  THE  SOCIALISTS  HELD  THE  FOLLOWING  NUMBER  OF 

LOCAL  OFFICERS,  ACCORDING  TO  THE  REPORT  OF  THE 

INTERNATIONAL  SECRETARY 


Finland               .  . 

.    877 

Austria-Bohemia..  .  .  . 

.  .  .  2896 

Sweden  

96 

Denmark      

Servia    

3.  TABLE  SHOWING  THE  MEMBERSHIP  OF  THE  SO- 
CIALIST PARTY,  IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES 

(COMPILED  FROM  REPORTS  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERNA- 
TIONAL, 1909-10) 


1907 


igo8 


Country 

•^•8. 

i! 

Members 

•--S, 

«  s< 

*! 

3& 

Members 

at 

$5 

•qj 

Members 

Great  Britain,  L.  P... 

Great  Britain,  J.  L.  P. 
Great  Britain,  S  .D.  F. 
Great  Britain,  Fabians 

2?s 

600 
203 

IO 

2704 

1,072,412 
3S.ooo 

14.500 

1,207 

530.466 
•   (10.943) 

307 

765 
250 
27 

3120 

1,152,786 

50,000 
16,000 
2,015 
587.336 
(29.458) 

318 
900 

39 
3281 

1,481,368 
(4,000) 
60,000 
17,000 
2,462 
633.309 
(62,259) 
126,000 
156,000 
(6,000) 
85,266 
51.692 
30,000 
3,000 

2462 

769 

2500 

"s 

130,000 

48,237 

102,054 
49.328 

43,000 
5,000 

8 

16,000 

8 

IO 

400 

40 

1,500 
3.5oo 

22,700 

80,328 

(18,873) 

83,000 
(1,800) 

1156 
499 

1127 

602 
296 

71,266 
(16,826) 
27,500 
(2,000) 
112,693 

637 

338 
360 

211 

906 
23 

46,500 
(2,500) 
60,183 
47,000 
9,289 
185,318 
21,132 
1,950 
4,287 
53.375 

Holland  

167 
803 

7.47' 
161,239 

176 

8,411 
183,097 

Belgium  •  

6iS 

3,658 
26,784 

7* 

1900 

80 

2,886 

109 

3200 

USA 

*  Province  of  Lettland. 

Figures  in  parenthesis  indicate  number  of  women  members. 


APPENDIX  341 


4.  AMERICAN  SOCIALIST  PARTY  PLATFORM 

[Adopted  by  National  Convention  May,  1908,  and  by  Mem- 
bership Referendum  August  8th,  1908.  Amended  by  Refer- 
endum September  7th,  1909.] 

PRINCIPLES 

HUMAN  life  depends  upon  food,  clothing,  and  shelter.  Only 
with  these  assured  are  freedom,  culture,  and  higher  human  de- 
velopment possible.  To  produce  food,  clothing,  or  shelter,  land 
and  machinery  are  needed.  Land  alone  does  not  satisfy  human 
needs.  Human  labor  creates  machinery  and  applies  it  to  the 
land  for  the  production  of  raw  materials  and  food.  Whoever 
has  control  of  land  and  machinery  controls  human  labor,  and 
with  it  human  life  and  liberty. 

To-day  the  machinery  and  the  land  used  for  industrial  pur- 
poses are  owned  by  a  rapidly  decreasing  minority.  So  long  as 
machinery  is  simple  and  easily  handled  by  one  man,  its  owner 
cannot  dominate  the  sources  of  life  of  others.  But  when  ma- 
chinery becomes  more  complex  and  expensive,  and  requires  for 
its  effective  operation  the  organized  effort  of  many  workers, 
its  influence  reaches  over  wide  circles  of  life.  The  owners  of 
such  machinery  become  the  dominant  class. 

In  proportion  as  the  number  of  such  machine  owners  com- 
pared to  all  other  classes  decreases,  their  power  in  the  nation 
and  in  the  world  increases.  They  bring  ever  larger  masses  of 
working  people  under  their  control,  reducing  them  to  the  point 
where  muscle  and  brain  are  their  only  productive  property. 
Millions  of  formerly  self-employing  workers  thus  become  the 
helpless  wage  slaves  of  the  industrial  masters. 

As  the  economic  power  of  the  ruling  class  grows  it  becomes 
less  useful  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  All  the  useful  work  of  the 
nation  falls  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  class  whose  only  property 
is  its  manual  and  mental  labor  power — the  wage  worker — or 
of  the  class  who  have  but  little  land  and  little  effective  ma- 
chinery outside  of  their  labor  power — the  small  traders  and 
small  farmers.  The  ruling  minority  is  steadily  becoming  useless 
and  parasitic. 

A  bitter  struggle  over  the  division  of  the  products  of  labor 
is  waged  between  the  exploiting  propertied  classes  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  exploited  propertyless  class  on  the  other.  In  this 
struggle  the  wage-working  class  cannot  expect  adequate  relief 
from  any  reform  of  the  present  order  at  the  hands  of  the 
dominant  class. 

The  wage  workers  are  therefore  the  most  determined  and 
irreconcilable  antagonists  of  the  ruling  class.  They  suffer  most 
from  the  curse  of  class  rule.  The  fact  that  a  few  capitalists 
are  permitted  to  control  all  the  country's  industrial  resources 
and  social  tools  for  their  individual  profit,  and  to  make  the 


342  APPENDIX 

production  of  the  necessaries  of  life  the  object  of  competitive 
private  enterprise  and  speculation  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  the 
social  evils  of  our  time. 

In  spite  of  the  organization  of  trusts,  pools,  and  combinations, 
the  capitalists  are  powerless  to  regulate  production  for  social 
ends.  Industries  are  largely  conducted  in  a  planless  manner. 
Through  periods  of  feverish  activity  the  strength  and  health 
of  the  workers  are  mercilessly  used  up,  and  during  periods  of 
enforced  idleness  the  workers  are  frequently  reduced  to  starva- 
tion. 

The  climaxes  of  this  system  of  production  are  the  regularly 
recurring  industrial  depressions  and  crises  which  paralyze  the 
nation  every  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

The  capitalist  class,  in  its  mad  race  for  profits,  is  bound  to 
exploit  the  workers  to  the  very  limit  of  their  endurance  and 
to  sacrifice  their  physical,  moral,  and  mental  welfare  to  its  own 
insatiable  greed.  Capitalism  keeps  the  masses  of  workingmen 
in  poverty,  destitution,  physical  exhaustion,  and  ignorance.  It 
drags  their  wives  from  their  homes  to  the  mill  and  factory. 
It  snatches  their  children  from  the  playgrounds  and  schools 
and  grinds  their  slender  bodies  and  unformed  minds  into  cold 
dollars.  It  disfigures,  maims,  and  kills  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  workingmen  annually  in  mines,  on  railroads,  and  in  factories. 
It  drives  millions  of  workers  into  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed 
and  forces  large  numbers  of  them  into  beggary,  vagrancy,  and 
all  forms  of  crime  and  vice. 

To  maintain  their  rule  over  their  fellow-men,  the  capitalists 
must  keep  in  their  pay  all  organs  of  the  public  powers,  public 
mind,  and  public  conscience.  They  control  the  dominant  parties 
and,  through  them,  the  elected  public  officials.  They  select  the 
executives,  bribe  the  legislatures,  and  corrupt  the  courts  of 
justice.  They  own  and  censor  the  press.  They  dominate  the 
educational  institutions.  They  own  the  nation  politically  and 
intellectually  just  as  they  own  it  industrially. 

The  struggle  between  wage  workers  and  capitalists  grows 
ever  fiercer,  and  has  now  become  the  only  vital  issue  before  the 
American  people.  The  wage-working  class,  therefore,  has  the 
most  direct  interest  in  abolishing  the  capitalist  system.  But  in 
abolishing  the  present  system,  the  workingmen  will  free  not 
only  their  own  class,  but  also  all  other  classes  of  modern  society. 
The  small  farmer,  who  is  to-day  exploited  by  large  capital  more 
indirectly  but  not  less  effectively  than  is  the  wage  laborer ;  the 
small  manufacturer  and  trader,  who  is  engaged  in  a  desperate 
and  losing  struggle  for  economic  independence  in  the  face  of 
the  all-conquering  power  of  concentrated  capital ;  and  even  the 
capitalist  himself,  who  is  the  slave  of  his  wealth  rather  than 
its  master.  The  struggle  of  the  working  class  against  the  cap- 
italist class,  while  it  is  a  class  struggle,  is  thus  at  the  same  time 
a  struggle  for  the  abolition  of  all  classes  and  class  privileges. 

The  private  ownership  of  the  land  and  means  of  production 
used  for  exploitation,  is  the  rpck  upon  which  class  rule  is  built; 


APPENDIX  343 

political  government  is  its  indispensable  instrument.  The  wage- 
workers  cannot  be  freed  from  exploitation  without  conquering 
the  political  power  and  substituting  collective  for  private  owner- 
ship of  the  land  and  means  of  production  used  for  exploitation. 

The  basis  for  such  transformation  is  rapidly  developing  within 
present  capitalist  society.  The  factory  system,  with  its  complex 
machinery  and  minute  division  of  labor,  is  rapidly  destroying  all 
vestiges  of  individual  production  in  manufacture.  Modern  pro- 
duction is  already  very  largely  a  collective  and  social  process. 
The  great  trusts  and  monopolies  which  have  sprung  up  in  recent 
years  have  organized  the  work  and  management  of  the  principal 
industries  on  a  national  scale,  and  have  fitted  them  for  col- 
lective use  and  operation. 

There  can  be  no  absolute  private  title  to  land.  All  private 
titles,  whether  called  fee  simple  or  otherwise,  are  and  must  be 
subordinate  to  the  public  title.  The  Socialist  Party  strives  to 
prevent  land  from  being  used  for  the  purpose  of  exploitation 
and  speculation.  It  demands  the  collective  possession,  control, 
or  management  of  land  to  whatever  extent  may  be  necessary 
to  attain  that  end.  It  is  not  opposed  to  the  occupation  and 
possession  of  land  by  those  using  it  in  a  useful  and"  bona  fide 
manner  without  exploitation. 

The  Socialist  Party  is  primarily  an  economic  and  political 
movement.  It  is  not  concerned  with  matters  of  religious  belief. 

In  the  struggle  for  freedom  the  interests  of  all  modern  workers 
are  identical.  The  struggle  is  not  only  national  but  international. 
It  embraces  the  world  and  will  be  carried  to  ultimate  victory 
by  the  united  workers  of  the  world. 

To  unite  the  workers  of  the  nation  and  their  allies  and  sym- 
pathizers of  all  other  classes  to  this  end,  is  the  mission  of  the 
Socialist  Party.  In  this  battle  for  freedom  the  Socialist  Party 
does  not  strive  to  substitute  working  class  rule  for  capitalist 
class  rule,  but  by  working  class  victory,  to  free  all  humanity 
from  class  rule  and  to  realize  the  international  brotherhood  of 


PROGRAM 

As  measures  calculated  to  strengthen  the  working  class  in  its 
fight  for  the  realization  of  this  ultimate  aim,  and  to  increase  its 
power  of  resistance  against  capitalist  oppression,  we  advocate  and 
pledge  ourselves  and  our  elected  officers  to  the  following 
program : 

General  Demands 

I.  The  immediate  government  relief  for  the  unemployed  work- 
ers by  building  schools,  by  reforesting  of  cut-over  and  waste 
lands,  by  reclamation  of  arid  tracts,  and  the  building  of  canals, 
and  by  extending  all  other  useful  public  works.  All  persons 
employed  on  such  works  shall  be  employed  directly  by  the  gov- 
ernment under  an  eight-hour  work-day  and  at  the  prevailing 


344  APPENDIX 

union  wages.  The  government  shall  also  loan  money  to  states 
and  municipalities  without  interest  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
on  public  works.  It  shall  contribute  to  the  funds  of  labor 
organizations  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  their  unemployed 
members,  and  shall  take  such  other  measures  within  its  power 
as  will  lessen  the  widespread  misery  of  the  workers  caused  by 
the  misrule  of  the  capitalist  class. 

2.  The  collective  ownership  of  railroads,  telegraphs,  telephones, 
steamboat  lines,  and  all  other  means  of  social  transportation  and 
communication. 

3.  The  collective  ownership  of  all  industries  which  are  organ- 
ized on  a  national  scale  and  in  which  competition  has  virtually 
ceased  to  exist. 

4.  The    extension    of    the    public    domain    to    include    mines, 
quarries,  oil  wells,  forests,  and  water  power. 

5.  The  scientific  reforestation  of  timber  lands,  and  the  reclama- 
tion of  swamp  lands.    The  land  so  reforested  or  reclaimed  to  be 
permanently  retained  as  a  part  of  the  public  domain. 

6.  The  absolute  freedom  of  press,  speech,  and  assemblage. 

Industrial  Demands 

7.  The  improvement  of  the  industrial  condition  of  the  workers, 
(a)  By  shortening  the  workday  in  keeping  with  the  increased 

productiveness  of  machinery. 

(&)  By  securing  to  every  worker  a  rest  period  of  not  less  than 
a  day  and  a  half  in  each  week. 

(c)  By  securing  a  more  effective  inspection  of  workshops  and 
factories. 

(d)  By  forbidding  the  employment  of  children  under  sixteen 
years  of  age. 

(e)  By  forbidding  the  interstate  transportation  of  the  products 
of  child  labor,  of  convict  labor,  and  of  all  uninspected  factories. 

(/)  By  abolishing  official  charity  and  substituting  in  its  place 
compulsory  insurance  against  unemployment,  illness,  accidents, 
invalidism,  old  age,  and  death. 

Political  Demands 

8.  The  extension  of  inheritance  taxes,  graduated  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  the  bequests  and  to  the  nearness  of  kin. 

9.  A  graduated  income  tax. 

10.  Unrestricted  and  equal  suffrage  for  men  and  women,  and 
we  pledge  ourselves  to  engage  in  an  active  campaign  in  that 
direction. 

11.  The  initiative  and  referendum,  proportional  representation, 
and  the  right  of  recall. 

12.  The  abolition  of  the  senate. 

13.  The  abolition  of  the  power  usurped  by  the  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States  to  pass  upon  the  constitutionality  of  legis- 
lation enacted  by  Congress.     National  laws  to  be  repealed  or 


APPENDIX  345 

abrogated  only  by  act  of  Congress  or  by  a  referendum  of  the 
whole  people. 

14.  That  the  Constitution  be  made  amendable  by  majority  vote. 

15.  The  enactment  of  further  measures  for  general  education 
and  for  the  conservation  of  health.    The  bureau  of  education  to 
be  made  a  department.    The  creation  of  a  department  of  public 
health. 

16.  The  separation  of  the  present  bureau  of  labor  from  the 
department  of  commerce  and  labor,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
department  of  labor. 

17.  That  all  judges  be  elected  by  the  people  for  short  terms, 
and  that  the  power  to  issue  injunctions  shall  be  curbed  by  imme- 
diate legislation. 

18.  The  free  administration  of  justice. 

Such  measures  of  relief  as  we  may  be  able  to  force  from 
capitalism  are  but  a  preparation  of  the  workers  to  seize  the 
whole  power  of  government,  in  order  that  they  may  thereby  lay 
hold  of  the  whole  system  of  industry  and  thus  come  to  their 
rightful  inheritance. 


INDEX 


Allemane,  77 

American  Socialist  Party  plat- 
form, 341 

Amsterdam  Congress,  228 

Anarchy,  29,  65,  127 

Anselee,  122 

Anti-militarism,  in  France,  lip- 
112;  in  Belgium,  129;  in 
Germany,  201-202 

Anti-Socialist  Law  (German), 
160-167 

Asquith,  Premier,  and  the  Par- 
liament Bill,  238-240 

Austria,  revolution  in,  47 

Bakunin,  65,  71 

Barthou,  on  French  post-office 
strike,  97;  on  railway  strike, 
101 

Bebel,  August,  155,  158;  on 
Anti-Socialist  Law,  161,  162, 
163,  165,  166 ;  arrest  of,  167 ; 
candidate  for  President  of 
Reichstag,  190;  on  defeat  of 
Socialism,  1907,  194;  on  in- 
heritance tax,  188 ;  as  a  party 
leader,  264;  on  new  Alsatian 
Constitution,  198;  on  mili- 
tarism, 202-203;  on  partici- 
pation in  legislation,  188,  189 ; 
on  party  discipline,  177,  193, 
JQ5,  196;  on  Socialism  in 
United  States,  268 

Belgium,  118-145;  government 
of,  121-122;  co-operative 
movement  in,  140-145;  agra- 
rian movement  in,  142;  na- 
ture of  Belgian  Socialism, 
143-144;  labor  organizations 
in,  122-125;  Labor  Party  in 


Parliament,  133-135 ;  politi- 
cal parties  in,  121 ;  poverty 
and  illiteracy  in,  118-120,  125, 
128 

Bernstein,  Ed.,  192 

Bibliography,  273-279 

Bismarck  and  Lassalle,  154; 
and  Reichstag  suffrage,  158; 
and  repression  of  Socialism, 
159-161 ;  Anti-Socialist  Law, 
160-168;  and  State  Insurance, 
168-169 

Blanc,  Louis,  13,  26-28,  62; 
Lassalle  adopts  plan  of,  152 

Bourgeoisie,  defined,  2 

Bourse  du  Travail,  77,  80; 
federation  of,  77;  organiza- 
tion of,  105-106 

Brentano,  Prof.,  on  Socialism 
in  U.  S.,  269 

Briand,  Aristide,  78,  81,  91,  97; 
became  Prime  Minister,  97; 
program  of  legislation,  98; 
and  the  railway  strike,  99- 
104 

Brousse,  76,  105 

Brussels,  city  of  refuge,  122; 
demonstrations  in,  127,  128, 
139-140;  Maison  du  Peuple 
of,  144 

Burns,  John,  215 ;  in  cabinet, 
228,  234;  on  right  to  work, 
244;  on  Socialism  in  U.  S., 
268 

Cabet,  23 

Carlyle,  on  Chartist  movement, 

52 
"C.  G.  T."     See  Syndicalists 

and  Syndicalism 


347 


348 


INDEX 


Chartist  movement,  51-54,  208 
Christian  Socialism,  9,  221-222 
Christian  Social  Union,  221 
Church   Socialist   League,   222 
Class   basis  of   Socialism,   1-6, 

J5»  35-    See  also  Marx 
Class    interests,    illusion    of, 

253-254 
Class  War,  Guesdists  on  the, 

85 

Class  War  and  Syndicalists, 
106-107 

Clemenceau,  debate  with 
Jaures,  92,  94;  on  post-office 
strike,  96-97 

Clerical  Party  in  Belgium,  129, 
134,  135,  136,  308;  in  Ger- 
many, 200.  See  also  political 
parties 

Colin,  co-operative  movement 
started  by,  122 

"  Collectivism,"  origin  of  word, 

339 

Communal  Program  of  Bava- 
rian Socialists,  301 ;  of  Bel- 
gian Socialists,  314 
Communist  League,  the,  56 
Communist  Manifesto,  13,  56- 

61 

Compere-Morel,  115-116 
Competition  and  the  Socialist 

theory,  11,  35 

Co-operation,  n;  in  Belgium, 
see  Belgium ;  in  England, 
217-218;  see  also  England; 
statistics  of,  308,  309 

Davidson,  Thomas,  220 
Democracy  and  Socialism,  42, 

43;  spread  of,  by  Socialists, 

257 
Democratic  revolutions,  26-55 ', 

in  Germany,  146-148 
Dennis,  Prof.  Hector,  142 
Development  Act   (Eng.),  233 
Dicey,  Prof.,  on  the  Liberal 

and  Socialist  parties,  230 
Dockers'  strike,  215 
Dreyfus  affair,  84-90 


Eisenach  Program,  157-158 

Election  laws,  German,  293- 
294 

Electoral  reform.  See  Saxony, 
Prussia,  "  Free  Cities," 
Chartist  Movement 

Ely,  Prof.  R.  T.,  conservation 
in  U.  S.,  269 

Emperor  William's  life  at- 
tempted, 159-160 

Engels,  Frederick,  50,  52,  56- 
61;  on  English  police,  245; 
on  changes  in  revolutionary 
ideals,  255 

England,  growth  of  Socialism 
in,  315 ;  thrift  institutions  in, 
318;  Socialism  in,  207-249; 
character  of  Socialism  in, 
211-212.  See  also  Chartist 
movement ;  Engels ;  Indus- 
trial Revolution ;  Insurance 
Bill;  Labor  Party;  Labor 
Exchange  Act ;  Land  Sys- 
tem; Liberal  Party;  Lords, 
House  of 

English,  characteristics  of  the, 
209-211;  income  of  the,  213- 
214 

Erfurt  Program,  191 ;  dissatis- 
faction with,  192-194 

Fabian  Society,  origin,  220- 
221;  famous  members,  220- 
221 ;  attitude  toward  consti- 
tutionalism, 248;  basis  of, 
327;  an  election  address  of, 
335;  an  election  dodger  of, 

337 
Feudalism,  class  ideals  of,  43, 

44,  45;  in  Germany,  147 
Feuerbach,   31-32 
Fourier,  19-22,  24 
France,  Revolution  of  1848,  47 ; 

commune    of    1871,    49,    61 ; 

Socialist    Party    of,    75-117; 

factions   in    Socialist   Party, 

76-78 ;    "  United    Socialists," 

77,  78 ;  Socialist  Radicals,  78 ; 

the    "Bloc,"    84,    85;    labor 


INDEX 


349 


unions  in,  77;  post-office 
strike  in,  94-97;  railway 
strike  in,  98-99;  local  So- 
cialism in,  112-113;  govern- 
ment of,  280-281 

France,  Anatole,  117 

Frank,  Dr.,  on  the  Baden  budg- 
et, 196-198;  on  the  intellec- 
tual classes  and  Socialism, 

254 
"  Free  Cities,"  election  laws  in, 

183 
French  Revolution,  42 

Gambetta,  79 

General  strike,  256;  in  Bel- 
gium, 126,  131,  138,  143 

George,  Henry,  220 

George,  Lloyd,  232;  budget 
of,  236-238;  Insurance  Bill 
of,  240-241;  flays  Keir  Har- 
die,  245 

Germany,  Social  Democracy  in, 
146-170;  revolution  in,  46; 
character  of  government  in, 
147;  the  new  Empire,  158; 
most  "  socialized "  country, 
169-190;  labor  unions  in, 
^i-i^S;  party  representation 
in  Reichstag,  297 ;  vote  of  all 
parties  in,  296;  political  par- 
ties in,  292-293.  See  also 
"Free  Cities;"  Suffrage; 
Progressists;  Labor  Or- 
ganizations; Liberal  Party 

Gneist,  Prof.,  and  Anti-So- 
cialist law,  162 

Godin,  J.,  21 

Godwin,  24 

Guesde,  Jules,  75,  76,  81,  85, 
87,  105,  106 

Guise,  community  at,  21 

Hardie,  Keir,  222,  and  Devel- 
opment Act,  234,  243;  on 
using  military  during  strike, 
245 ;  on  goal  of  Socialism, 
247 


Hasselman,  158;  expelled  from 
Social  Democratic  Party,  166 
Hegel,  23,  31 
Hegelians,  Young,  31,  50 
Herve,  Gustave,  no,  112 
Hobhouse,  Prof.,  247 
Hyndman,  H.   M.,  219 

I.  L.  P.,  organization  of,  222, 
243 ;  on  Liberal  coalition, 
243-244;  attitude  on  Insur- 
ance Bill,  244;  constitution 
and  by-laws,  322 

Industrial  revolution,  43 ; 
change  in  social  ideals,  44, 
45 ;  violence  of  first  days, 
45 ;  in  England,  207-209 

Insurance  Bill  (Eng.),  240-241 

International,  the,  56;  "Old 
International,"  56-69 ;  "  New 
International,"  69-74 ;  Am- 
sterdam Congress  of,  228 

International  Socialist  Bu- 
reau, 72,  74 

International  Socialist  Statis- 
tics, 339,  340 

International  Workingmen's 
Association,  71 

Jaures,  Jean,  80,  81,  82,  84,  85, 
87,  loo ;  leader  of  "  Bloc," 
90-91 ;  debate  with  Clemen- 
ceau,  92-93 ;  in  Amsterdam 
Congress,  228;  on  difference 
between  Socialism  and  De- 
mocracy, 265 ;  on  Socialism 
in  U.  S.,  268 

Kaiser,  the,  and  German  So- 
cial Democrats,  180,  181 

Kautsky,  K.,  50,  85;  on  Re- 
visionism, 192-193 ;  on  Am- 
sterdam Congress,  228 

Kingsley,  212 

Labor  Exchange  Act  (Eng- 
land), 233 

Labor  Organization  in  France, 
104;  in  Germany,  150-151, 
I7I-I7S 


350 


INDEX 


Labor  Party,  English,  74,  274, 
223-225,  226,  227-232,  228, 
231,  241,  242;  Program  of, 
3i8,  334 

Labor  Party,  the  first,  75;  in 
Belgium,  see  Belgium;  Pro- 
gram of,  309 

Labor  Questions  and  Socialism, 
258 

Labor  unions  in  Belgium,  po- 
litical activity  of,  308.  See 
also  Belgium 

Labor  unions  in  England.  See 
Trades  Unions 

Labor  unions  in  France.  See 
Bourse  du  Travail,  and  Syn- 
dicats 

Labor  unions  in  Germany,  295. 
See  also  Germany 

Land  system  of  England, 
236-237 

Lassalle,  147-155,  185;  Leipzig 
address,  152;  General  Work- 
ingman's  Association,  152- 
154;  influence  on  German 
Social  Democracy,  154 

League  of  the  Just,  56-57,  69 

Ledebour,  on  ministerial  re- 
sponsibility, 189 

Legislation,  advocated  by  So- 
cialists, in  Germany,  see 
Social  Democratic  Party; 
in  England,  231-241 

Liberal  Party,  in  Germany, 
146-148,  150,  151 ;  in  England, 
226,  227,  228,  230-231,  242- 

245 

Liebknecht,  70,  155,  156,  157, 
158,  163;  in  Reichstag,  166; 
arrested,  167;  on  party  tac- 
tics, 186;  on  Erfurt  Pro- 
gram, 191 

London,  progress  in,  235 
Lords,  House  of,  an  issue,  237- 
239,  240 

MacDonald,  J.  Ramsay,  on 
I.  L.  P.,  245-247;  on  Democ- 
racy, 254-255 


Mazzini,  54,  61,  62 

McCarthy,  Justin,  on  Chart- 
ism, 52 

Marx,  Karl,  9,  32,  38,  39;  the- 
ories of  32-36;  formulae  of, 
"  capital,"  37-38 ;  influence  on 
Socialist  movement,  39-40 ; 
criticism  of,  40,  41 ;  theory 
of  Revolution,  43 ;  on  Ger- 
man revolution,  47,  48,  49; 
on  the  Commune,  49,  69; 
the  Communist  Manifesto, 
56-61 ;  "  address  "  and  "  stat- 
utes "  of  the  "  Old  Interna- 
tional," 62,  63,  67,  68;  at  The 
Hague,  64;  present  influence 
in  Germany,  194 

Marxian  influence  in  the  In- 
ternational, 69-71 

Marxians  and  the  Possibilists, 
85,  9i 

Marxians  in  England,  219,  317 

Maurice,  212 

Menger,  Adolph,  critique  of 
Marxianism,  40-41 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  10 

Millerand,  77,  78,  80,  81,  82, 
84,  85,  86,  91 ;  at  St.  Mande, 
82;  Program  of,  88-90;  ex- 
pelled from  Socialist  Party, 
87;  on  railway  strike,  101, 
102;  on  ideals  of  Socialism, 
6 

Militarism,  and  the  Interna- 
tional, 72-74;  and  the  Syndi- 
calists, 108-109 

Money,  Chiozza,  213,  214,  215, 
236 

Morley,  Lord,  on  new  Liberal- 
ism, 230 

Morris,  Wm.,  9,  219;  on 
Whigs,  229 

Most,  Herr,  in  Reichstag,  158; 
expelled  from  Socialist 
Party,  166 

Munich,  Social*  st  activity  in, 
204-206 

Municipal  Socialism  in  France, 
112-115;  in  Germany,  204-206 


INDEX 


35i 


Old  Age  Pensions,  101 
Osborne  Judgment,  the,  217 
Owen,  Robert,  6,  8,  21-23,  25; 
Rochdale,  27 

Paepe,  Caesar  de,  122 

Paris,  Commune.  See  Com- 
mune. First  meeting  of 
"  New  International,"  69-71 

Parliament  Bill,  238-240 

Peasantry,  French,  115-116; 
Belgian,  142-143 

Possibilists,  70 

Poverty  and  Socialism,  10-11; 
in  England,  213-215 ;  in  Bel- 
gium, see  Belgium 

Progressists,  in  Belgium,  128, 
129;  in  Germany,  151,  162, 
190 

Proudhon,  28-31,  62 

Proudhonism  in  England,    106 

Prussia,   election   laws,   183 

Reformistes,  in  France,  see 
Millerand,  Briand ;  in  Ger- 
many, 192-193 

Revisionist  controversy  in  Ger- 
many, 192-193 

Revolution,  social,  12,  13,  255, 
256;  modern  idea,  53 

Revolutionary  era,  26-55 

Rodbertus,  150,  153,  155 

Rosebery,   Lord,  229 

Rousseau,  42 

Ruskin,  212 

Sabotage,  96,  100,  101,  102,  104, 

108 
Sachsen-Altenburg,         election 

law,  294 

Saint-Simon,  17-19,  23 
Saxe-Weimar,    election    law, 

294 
Saxony,  new  election  law,  182, 

293 

Schultze-Delitsch,    150 
Shaw,  G.  B.,  220,  240,  247 
Simiyan,  on  French  post-office 

strike.  95 
Small  Holdings  Act,  234,  235 


Social  Democratic  Federation, 
(English),  219,  220,  317,  330 

Social  Democratic  Party  (Ger- 
man), 175-190;  discipline, 
177-179;  attitude  of  govern- 
ment towards,  179-181 ; 
change  in  temper,  186-204; 
attitude  towards  legislation, 
186-191;  first  bill  in  Reichs- 
tag, 187;  attitude  on  state 
insurance,  188;  present  tem- 
per, 191 ;  program  of,  191, 
198,  199,  297;  attitude  to- 
wards other  parties,  194,  199; 
election  address  of,  303 

Socialism,  ideals  of,  6-10; 
theories,  11;  development  of, 
17;  political  awakening  of, 
42;  modern  conception  of 
revolution,  51 ;  what  is,  62, 
63 ;  changes  in,  250 ;  illusions 
of,  253 ;  in  different  countries, 
257;  limits  of,  262;  char- 
acteristics of  present,  262- 
266 ;  in  Parliaments,  251 ; 
what  it  has  accomplished, 
257-260;  nature  of  its  de- 
mands, 261-262;  difference 
between  Socialism  and  De- 
mocracy, 265-266;  when  the 
word  was  first  used,  23 

Socialist  officers,  list  of,  340 

Socialist  Party,  membership  of, 
340 

Socialist  vote  in  leading  coun- 
tries, 339 

Sorel,  Georges,  107 

South  Germany  budget  con- 
troversy, 159-199 

State,  increased  functions  of, 
259-260 

State  Insurance,  opposed  by 
Socialists,  167;  attitude  of 
present-day  Socialists,  188 ; 
in  Germany,  169,  170;  statis- 
tics, 295 ;  see  also  Bismarck 

Siidekum,  Dr.,  on  nature  of 
Social  Democratic  Party, 
199 


352 


INDEX 


Suffrage,  struggle  for,  in  Bel- 
gium, 124-133;  electoral  laws 
of  Belgium,  132-136;  strug- 
gle for,  in  Germany,  146, 
182-185 

Syndicalism,  94,  107-110,  96- 
98,  99-102,  105-106,  256 


Taff   Vale    decision,   216-217, 

232 

Thiers,    President,   75 
Town  Planning  Act,  234,  235 
Trades  Disputes  Act,  232 
Trades    Unions,    English,    and 

the  International,  62,  67,  69; 

characteristics,  215,  216,  217, 

218;   and   Socialism,  69,  72; 

and  Syndicalism,  108 
Transportation  strike,  England, 

244,  245 


United  Socialist  Party  of 
France,  Basis  of  Union,  289; 
U.  S.,  Socialism  in,  266-270; 
Socialist  vote  in,  268;  plat- 


form of  Socialists  in  U.  S., 
34i 

Vaillant,  81,  82,  100 
Vandervelde,  118,  134,  137,  138, 

142,  143 

Villiers,  Brougham,  247-248 
Viviani,  78,  91,  101 
Von  Kettler,  Baron,  Bishop  of 

Mayence,  153,  172 
Von    Vollmar,    181,    193,    195, 

200,  203,  204 

Waldeck-Rousseau,  79,  84,  85 

Webb,  Sidney,  220,  221,  234, 
242 

Weitling  Wm.,  7 

Wells,  H.  C,  10 

Wescott,  Dr.,  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham, 221 

Workingmen's  Association  of 
Lassalle,  154,  156,  157,  158 

Workingmen's  Compensation 
Act  (England),  233 

Yvetot  on  Syndicalism,  108, 
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WAYl 

7  1979 

JAN     ( 

1RR5 

JAN     < 

1967 

JAN 

S1967  8 

MA*  # 

9  JS67 

ii'u'iui   A-<  i 

,-,_/ 

MAY  2 

9  BIT 

MAY  2  6 

967  0 

DEC  2 

L  1967 

DEC  8 

1967  1 

MAY 

23  wow 

MAY  2! 

19684 

DEC 

81970 

uU  v  2 

ir  in^r\   ~ 

o  Id/u  C 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

3  1210  00174 


